Charlottetown police investigating report of fire at protest encampment

Charlottetown police are investigating a tent fire at an encampment where people have been protesting changes to P.E.I.'s immigration system.

Rupinder Pal Singh, one of the protest's organizers, said there were four people in the tent when it caught fire early Saturday morning. He said he had just fallen asleep when a man walking by the encampment woke them up by yelling about a fire.

Singh said he called 911 immediately and first responders showed up within minutes.

According to a news release, police and the Charlottetown Fire Department responded to the fire on the property of St. Paul's Church on Prince Streetat about 3 a.m.

No injuries were reported.

Half of the tent is burnedand can't be used again, said Singh, and some blankets and tarps wereruined.

He said police have agreed to point two surveillance cameras on the front and rear of the encampment to better monitor it.

Charlottetown police are asking anyone with information to contact them or P.E.I. Crime Stoppers with information about the fire.

"We want actions to be taken," Singh said. "We should know why this happened, what was the reason."

Back in February, the P.E.I. government announced it would cut the number of people that it nominates for permanent residency in Canada through the Provincial Nominee Program by 25 per cent this year.

The province has said it intends to focus nominations on sectors like health care and construction, where more workers are needed.The largest reduction in nominations will come in the sales and service sector.

In response, protesters gathered for weeks in front of the George Coles Building, the current home of the provincial legislature. Some of the workers engaged in hunger strikes, which have since ended.

A few weeks ago, the protesters were asked to leave the legislature grounds. Theymoved to the adjacent property at St. Paul's Church.

Singh saidone of his biggest concerns now is the protesters' safety, but he saidthey will not be abandoning the encampment.

"Going away is not the answer," he said. "If their message was just to scare us, I think that was really the wrong thing to do."