Metro Vancouver anti-vaccine mandate convoy met with counter-protesters

The large crowd of anti-vaccine mandate protesters which passed three hospitals and ended in Vancouver’s downtown core Saturday was met with a counter-protest in support of health-care workers.

Saturday’s protest began in Langley and made way to Vancouver. The route passed Mount Saint Joseph Hospital on Kingsway, Vancouver General on Broadway, and St. Paul’s on Burrard Street. Some smaller contingents of the protest made their presence known on other routes, causing traffic concerns.

The group gathered at the intersection of Robson St. and Burrard St. where demonstrators waved signs and yelled in disagreement with the current COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Related: ‘Refrain from wearing scrubs’: Vancouver health-care workers warned ahead of convoy protest

The anti-vaccine mandate convoy was met with a group of counter-protesters displaying signs in support of health-care workers. The counter-protesters demonstrated in designated crosswalks and did not interrupt regular traffic.

Michelle Fortin, a counter-protestor, says she was “giving a voice to those who don’t have one when it comes to public health.”

“We’re here to support the majority of Canadians who see public health as our own responsibility.”

Fortin says she is worried about how the convoys are affecting people with disabilities, racialized, and immunocompromised people. Vancouver police were on site conducting traffic and said on Twitter they would continue to work to keep traffic flowing.

#VanTraffic Hundreds of vehicles from the protest convoy have entered the downtown core, causing significant congestion. We’re working hard to keep things moving and to minimize traffic delays.

— Vancouver Police (@VancouverPD) February 5, 2022

Vancouver police say they received several reports of rocks and eggs thrown during the demonstrations, as well as nails strewn across roadways. Five men were arrested. Among them was a 29-year-old who was apprehended near Robson and Burrard streets.

“VPD officers observed him wearing a balaclava and pulling a wagon full of egg cartons,” reads a statement from police. “The man, a U.S. citizen from Washington State, had a knife in a sheath tied to his belt, and two eggs in his jacket pocket.”

Another man was arrested for mischief, after police say he kicked vehicles near Burrard and Davie streets. The VPD says another man was going through the crowds and challenging people to fights.

All five men have since been released from custody.

“Today’s protests attracted thousands of people who feel passionately about their causes,” said Sgt. Steve Addison. “While most protesters were peaceful, some had to be arrested for violent behaviour and unlawful conduct.”

On Friday, CityNews obtained memos to staff from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Providence Healthcare (PHC) advising them that both private security and the Vancouver Police Department would be monitoring the situation.

“As a precaution, we recommend that staff stay inside while the convoy is passing and to not engage with any protestors,” says the memo from PCH.

Here’s the one from Providence Health Care. Remember, BC has 20-metre bubble zone legislation in place which allows police to fine or arrest anyone who blocks access or tries to intimidate anyone at health care sites. Details on @CityNewsVAN. pic.twitter.com/30WhcTB10b

— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) February 5, 2022

“For your safety, we are recommending the following: please stay inside during the convoy; if you do encounter any protestors, please do not engage or respond to their questions; please do not ask protestors to put on a face mask; refrain from wearing scrubs and/or your ID badge outside of the hospital during the demonstration,” says the memo from VCH.

I’ve obtained internal memos from two local health authorities warning staff to be cautious as protests, in support of what’s happening in Ottawa, take place in Metro Vancouver this weekend. This one is from Vancouver Coastal Health, warning staff not to ID themselves. pic.twitter.com/JvlPRLMilt

— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) February 5, 2022

It was one of several rallies in cities across Canada in a show of solidarity with a week-long demonstration in the nation’s capital, while the effort to end the newly re-energized protest in Ottawa shifted gears to the legal arena.

Clusters of demonstrators faced off against each other after counter-protesters descended on downtown areas in Ottawa, Toronto, and Quebec City, with scattered arguments breaking out between groups as police worked to keep yelling matches from escalating further. Hundreds of participants also gathered at rallies in cities ranging from Fredericton to Victoria.

Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly said more than 1,000 vehicles and at least 5,000 protesters jammed the city core Saturday, along with 300-plus counter-demonstrators who oppose a protest that has been rebranded by critics, including a lot of frustrated downtown residents, as an occupation.

Sloly, however, had a different term in mind when he addressed a hastily called meeting of the city’s Police Services Board late Saturday afternoon.

“This is a siege,” he said. “It is something that is different in our democracy than I’ve ever experienced in my life … And we don’t have a Police Act that can adequately or effectively address this circumstance.”

Related articles:

• Counter-protesters gather in downtown Ottawa with message for freedom convoy: ‘go home please’

• GoFundMe removes donations to ‘freedom convoy’ after violations of service, will offer full refunds

At midday Saturday, a wash of demonstrators mingled near wood fires and barbecues on the snow-plastered lawn in front of West Block, home to the House of Commons. Participants roasted hotdogs and doled out baked goods under tarps warmed by portable heaters, while two men on horseback traipsed through the town, one carrying a flag in support of former U.S. president Donald Trump.

But hours later when darkness fell, chaos reigned just south of Parliament Hill.

Northbound streets were clogged with vehicles, including many big-rigs, as far as the eye could see. Few if any police were visible except for the few blocks immediately south of Parliament Hill. An open fire burned in one intersection, and a fast-food sandwich restaurant was jammed full of maskless patrons. Protesting truckers doled out hot snacks at a pop-up food table in the middle of another intersection.

Earlier in the day, counter-protesters assembled outside Ottawa City Hall across from the truckers’ encampment in downtown Confederation Park.

“Everyone expects it to be a nice safe event. However, there still is that underlying danger for any visible minorities, any people in the LGBTQ community,” Ottawa resident Mackenzie Demers said of the relatively quiet gathering he helped organize .”These occupiers, they are dangerous.”

A battle of signs also emerged, with those emblazoned with “Freedom” sparking written retorts such as, “Your freedom means a right to win a Darwin award,” and the quintessentially Canadian: “Go home please.”

Roughly 200 anti-convoy protesters – mainly Ottawa residents frustrated by the presence of the truckers in their city – gathered Saturday displaying signs that read “Go Home Please” and “Take Back Our City.” https://t.co/ZRubSaiHcZ

— CityNews Toronto (@CityNewsTO) February 5, 2022

Meanwhile, an Ontario Superior Court judge held off on ruling on a request to order truckers in the national capital to stop blowing their horns.

Justice Hugh McLean said Saturday he wants to give all sides in the lawsuit time to fully submit documents, adding that he plans to make a ruling on Monday afternoon.

Ottawa lawyer Paul Champ filed a proposed class-action lawsuit Friday on behalf of thousands of residents seeking millions of dollars in damages and an injunction “prohibiting the continuation of the nuisance.” The statement of claim names protest organizers Tamara Lich, Patrick King, Chris Barber and others as defendants.

All police were on duty in the capital, mainly downtown, Sloly said, adding that the police force was never designed to deal with a “city under siege” and that officers on duty for nearly two weeks straight are buckling under the strain: “We do need more help.”

Police said 50 criminal investigations ongoing, including 11 related to hate crime. Four people have been charged so far.

More than 20 highway ramps and roads were shut down throughout the day, Ottawa police said, following a week of blocked streets and racial taunts from aggressive protest participants.

In Toronto, several hundred protesters gathered on the south side of the Ontario legislature, chanting “liberte” overtop reggae that issued from loudspeakers and sporting placards that read, “Freedom.”

Nearby, a couple hundred health-care workers and supporters marched from the University of Toronto to hospital row just south of the legislature. Their inked messages included, “free-dumb” and “N95 masks for all.”

“We will not be intimidated.” Hundreds of healthcare workers and their supporters attend a counter protest in #Toronto today. A look at how it went a few hundred metres away from Queen’s Park.https://t.co/1eNp16UKxm

— Maleeha Sheikh (@MaleehaCity) February 6, 2022

Supporter Lesley Stoch said no one likes cancelling family visits and upending daily routines.

“But we do it for the greater good, we do it for the people we’ve lost, and we do it for our stretched-thin health-care system, which we rely on,” she said. “I think it’s really important to be here and speak up against the misinformation and the hate.”

Bill Fehr, a meat-processing plant owner at the legislature to protest pandemic measures, tapped into a strain of national pride while arguing that government rules encroach on the rights of unvaccinated workers.

“Those are a lot of people, patriots that have lost their jobs because they stood their ground. And that is unacceptable in this time and age. We, the common people, will prevail,” he told the Queen’s Park crowd through a microphone.

“Enough of the lockdowns. Enough of the mandates. Enough of running our lives for the last two years,” said Leszek Lasinski in an interview, claiming vaccination has “got us nowhere.”

Demonstrators also gathered in Fredericton, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, Victoria and the U.S. border crossing in Coutts, Alta.

Police forces in those cities say they have learned lessons from Ottawa’s predicament and developed strategies designed to protect key infrastructure, such as vital traffic corridors and hospitals, and also prevent possible violence.

Those tactics have involved significantly boosting the presence of police officers at protest sites, blocking off key access routes and stepping up enforcement of traffic regulations and bylaws on excessive noise and other issues.

Related articles:

• Ottawa police deploy ‘surge’ in response to ongoing protest

• Military response to Ottawa protest ‘not in the cards,’ Trudeau says

Back in Ottawa, Sloly said 250 RCMP officers would be deployed to the city, up sharply from the 60 that were previously expected.

Police in Winnipeg, meanwhile, laid charges against a 42-year-old Manitoba man who allegedly drove his vehicle into the group of “freedom convoy” protesters gathered in that city on Friday night.

The incident resulted in three men being treated at the scene for minor injuries, while a fourth man was taken to hospital and released. The accused is facing multiple charges including assault with a weapon and dangerous operation of a conveyance.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said protesters who have dug in for the long haul in downtown Ottawa and elsewhere are symbols of deep anger simmering through the country.

At a news conference, he called the trucker convoys “completely misdirected” in their actions, but noted that many people nationwide are feeling angry, worried and unsure of how the country will get out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With files from Sonia Aslam and Lisa Steacy