Some of it was planned, but part of it also was spontaneous. A group ( the 'Poverty Police' ) showed up to serve Liberal leader Gordon Campbell with 'papers' for failure to appear at all-candidates forums. "Then the Aboriginal thing just sort of took on a life of its own," said Scott Clark, United Native Nations President who watched it unfold. "Aboriginal women were singing the women's warrior song and a veteran burned the effigy of Gordon Campbell".

People drummed while the women sang and the Liberal leader's bus was surrounded by a crowd of frustrated and angry Aboriginal and local community activists in East Vancouver on the final day of campaigning for the May 16th provincial election. One eyewitness said there were at least several dozen people involved.

One Native observor described it as "holding him hostage" - because he has failed to address Aboriginal and grassroots issues during the campaign. His bus was blocked, there was some scuffling. One person reportedly suffered minor injuries.

It happened in early afternoon on East Hastings near Penticton Street in Vancouver, outside the office of controversial Liberal candidate Daniel Lee who has been criticized for avoiding the issues and candidates meetings.

Police arrived on the scene and blocked off one lane of East Hastings and escorted Campbell from his campaign bus and into the office where in front of the media he met briefly with protest spokesmen Glen Campbell and Dan Kruck of the Aboriginal Political Action Committee (APAC).

APAC's Campbell questioned Premier-in-waiting Campbell about his proposed treaty referendum and "racist" policies. What was it like during the face-to-face meeting with the Liberal leader? " There were about fifty cameras in my face and microphones all over the place and people were pushing and shoving everywhere".

In an interview with Turtle Island Native Network he continued to describe the scene inside the campaign office, "It was really crowded, I was about a foot away from him ... it was really hot and it got heated in there", with some finger pointing and a bit of swearing.

"I did swear at him, I sort of lost my cool a little bit, said Glen Campbell who was obviously frustrated by what he viewed as the "sidestepping and backtracking and rhetoric on the issues".

"I just said that's bullshit ... regrettably, I wish I didn't do that, now".

How did the Liberal leader handle the meeting? Glen Campbell said, "Oh he was rattled, his face was all red and he was shaking."

Although they were left without clear answers to their questions, APAC representatives left the meeting with a commitment from Campbell that once he forms the government and becomes Premier he will meet with them again.

Eventually the Liberal leader's bus was allowed to leave the area but not before Campbell was heckled and burned in effigy. A Mountie accompanied him as a precaution.

Reacting to the protest, the Liberals immediately lashed out at Premier Dosanjh and the NDP and accused them of orchestrating it. But the reality is that Liberal Daniel Lee's campaign office is across the street from NDP Joy McPhail's office - as if that isn't enough to flint-start a fiery protest itself. But the fact is, along with the protestors and supporters, coincidence or not, the Premier was showing up and so was the Liberal leader both around the same time.

To understand what really happened we need to recall the night before. There was a community forum - but the Liberals refused to show up. That prompted people from the issues forum to initiate action today. They went to confront Daniel Lee and Campbell for failure to appear at the forum at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre.

Today's protest escalated when more people arrived to lend support. The media arrived. So did the motorcycle police officers to divert traffic as the gathering grew.

Then what happened? "The Aboriginal people and these anti-poverty groups held his bus up for about forty five minutes, and sang songs and eventually did get some time to meet with him --- about ten minutes. Then he went on his way, and they went on their way", said Scott Clark.

But we know this is not the end of it. It is only the beginning. As Clark says, "Absolutely, this is an early warning". Campbell as Premier will taste much more of the same sentiment from Aboriginal and community groups, especially in Vancouver's downtown eastside and east Vancouver where social issues have always driven powerful politics and support for right wing agendas has been weak.

The message that the Liberal leader and his Vancouver candidates have been sending to Aboriginal people in the urban community, the First Nations Summit, all the anti-poverty groups --- is that you're not part of our concerns and we're going to ignore you.

"Those people today made it very clear that they're not going to be ignored." Clark warned, "The temperature is going to rise significantly over the next four or five years, with Campbell's very 'reform' platform. It is not going to go unchallenged by community activisits throughout Vancouver Hastings, Mount Pleasant and I suggest across the province."