Another protest convoy drives through Metro Vancouver as tensions flare across Canada

As politicians in Ontario struggle to deal with anti-mandate demonstrations taking place in that province, officials in B.C. are also monitoring two local convoys.

At least two so-called Freedom Convoys are driving through parts of B.C., one in Metro Vancouver and the other in the Okanagan.

The former is began in Chilliwack, with its endpoint identified as Surrey, at Pacific Gateway Village near the Pacific Highway truck crossing. That’s where people who have been opposing vaccine mandates and other restrictions have been protesting for the last week.

Surrey RCMP Cpl. Vanessa Munn says officers have prepared for the demonstration, with contingency plans in place.

“At this point in time, the protest has remained peaceful,” she said of the group posted at the border crossing. “We are alive to the fact that numbers could fluctuate significantly and that it could require additional resources over the weekend.”

COVID-19 mandate protesters set up at Surrey’ Pacific Gateway Village. (CityNews)

Munn says the RCMP has been keeping a close eye on the demonstration at the border since it popped up last weekend.

When it comes to the contingency plans in place, Munn says there are a number of options available, depending on “different circumstances” and “on what the weekend ends up looking like.”

The number of demonstrators at Pacific Gateway Village has fluctuated each day, according to Mounties. Munn notes it seems to differ depending on the time of day.

“We get down to approximately 10 people at certain times in the evening. We are finding the most busy time being kind of in the early evening hours, likely after some people are getting off work and attending the area,” she explained.

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The majority of calls the RCMP has received have been about noise complaints related to the protest, Munn says.

“At the end of the day, our primary concern is police and public safety. We want to preserve the right of people to demonstrate, but we want to ensure that it’s done in a safe and respectful manner — to the local residents, local businesses, and it is not impeding the ability to cross the border.”

CityNews recently heard from a local business owner about the protest at Pacific Gateway Village. He said his main concern was about safety, noting there is a daycare nearby and that the parking lot many of the demonstrators use is often where parents will park when picking up or dropping their children off.

“These kids come out of daycare and they bolt every time… and the parents are forever chasing them to stop them from running out in the middle of the parking lot, and it’s a battle with a four-year-old, three-year-old. And you’ve got these big F-150s in there with flags and music cranking, they’re not paying attention. It only takes a little bit more negative energy before somebody makes a mistake, and that’s my biggest worry, that somebody’s kid gets hit by a car,” the man said.

Protesters demanding COVID-19 mandates be lifted have gathered in Surrey at Pacific Gateway Village. Some businesses have posted signage asking demonstrators to respect locals and not take up parking spaces reserved for customers. (CityNews)

Last weekend, a Freedom Convoy drove from Langley to Vancouver’s downtown core, disrupting traffic along several major routes between the communities. The mandate protesters were eventually met by counter protesters when they arrived in Vancouver.

The protests and counter protests resulted in at least one investigation after video showed a truck seemingly almost run a person over.

Another Okanagan convoy protest

Meanwhile, for the third Saturday in a row, protesters will drive through the Okanagan this weekend, ending in Osoyoos.

Some event posters suggest the end point of the convoy is the “Osoyoos border,” though they make no mention of blocking the crossing.

Mayor Sue McKortoff tells CityNews she hopes demonstrators don’t decide to block the border, as other demonstrators have been doing in Coutts, Alberta, Emerson, Manitoba, and Windsor, Ontario.

“If you have a peaceful rally, you need to be respectful of everybody’s opinions and you need to be respectful of not inflaming situations that are already pretty tricky in nature,” she said to protesters.

“Some people tell me it has been peaceful, other than the noise, but there has been no aggressive activity I guess is what they mean by that,” she added of the past two convoy protests through Osoyoos.

McKortoff says many people in her community have reached out to her office to express their concerns.

Communications have ranged from complaints about pandemic mandates and restrictions to difficulties crossing the border due to COVID-19 rules.

“I think people have different ideas of what is important to them. From my point of view, I certainly listen and pay attention. I’m not going to go down and take part in a rally. My job is to monitor through our town staff and through the RCMP, and the RCMP have been really good about keeping an eye on things as well,” McKortoff explained.

However, she says she’s been confused by some people’s motives, citing reports that a number of people have joined previous protests for “fun.”

Regardless of why people are demonstrating, her message is clear: “we need to be calm and respectful of everybody.”

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McKortoff recalls hearing from neighbours who reported protesters blocking streets, making access to some homes and neighbourhoods tricky. However, in each circumstance, she says demonstrators made way to allow locals through.

“I think that’s very disruptive to lots of people’s lives when you block the borders — I don’t agree with that, personally. I think that you need to allow people to have their opinions on things, but you also need to be respectful of other people’s opinions and not put yours above what you think is more important than others,” the mayor added.

Protests have been taking place across the country in recent weeks after a large convoy made its way across Canada to Ottawa. Initially, that convoy was speaking out against cross-border vaccine mandates for truckers, however, the focus quickly shifted away from that to a more broad demonstration against all COVID-19 measures.

There have also been calls from demonstrators in Ottawa to remove the current government.

The protest remains in the nation’s capital, blocking much of the downtown core, bringing Ottawa to a standstill.

On Thursday, the prime minister spoke with ministers and officials after convening an Incident Response Group meeting about the blockades.

In a thread on Twitter, Justin Trudeau said the meeting was productive, elaborating on how demonstrators are “harming the communities they’re taking place in — and they’re hurting jobs, businesses, and our country’s economy.”