The 1983 Tranquille Occupation, Podcast Ep. 3
The Social Credit government launched an all-out assault on social services in July 1983. When the staff of the Tranquille Institution in Kamloops learned they were to be shut down, they fought back. In this episode of On the Line, we revisit the Tranquille occupation, when BC Government and Service Employees’ Union (BCGEU) members took control of a care facility to defend residents and workers’ rights. Their action marked the beginning of Operation Solidarity, one of the largest protest movements in British Columbia’s history.
Publication date: November 2, 2020
Podcast length: 30:42
Hosted by: Rod Mickleburgh
Research and writing by: Patricia Wejr and Rod Mickleburgh
Production by: John Mabbott
The first shock was the July 1983 announcement of a sweeping budget that eliminated multiple public programs and legal protections. When the Social Credit government then made a surprise decision to close the facility, workers took control of the site for 22 days, operating it without managerial oversight. The Tranquille occupation became the first direct action under the banner of Operation Solidarity.
Host Rod Mickleburgh introduces the background to the event, which followed the announcement of 26 pieces of legislation aimed at curbing public services and restricting union rights. The government’s plan to shut Tranquille was delivered without a plan for the 300 residents, many of whom had severe physical or developmental disabilities. This prompted BCGEU organizers, including Gary Steeves, to act. Workers formed an occupation council, maintained essential services, and denied site access to management and non-union personnel. Their goal was not only to preserve jobs but to ensure continuity of care for residents.
The episode incorporates firsthand accounts from union staff, notably Steeves, and includes original songs and poems produced during the occupation.
Though the occupation ended in August 1983, it drew widespread support from the Kamloops community and set the tone for months of escalating resistance across the province. The occupation’s legacy includes its influence on public sector bargaining, the protection of seniority rights through strike action later that year, and its symbolic role in a broader campaign to resist the dismantling of public infrastructure.