Surrey RCMP arrest four people at anti-COVID mandates protest

Four people were arrested at an anti-COVID-mandate protest at the Pacific Highway Border Crossing in Surrey this weekend.

A live camera at the border showed them walking with Mounties in handcuffs, towards a police car, on Sunday.

The Surrey RCMP says the four people were taken into custody for “mischief.”

A live camera with a different angle shows there are still a small group of protestors further down the road. There is still a very heavy police presence. One group of protestors has already been cleared. We have reached out to Surrey RCMP.@CityNewsVAN https://t.co/Cs9om9TgBy pic.twitter.com/g806mCn42F

— Robyn Crawford (@robyncrawford_) February 13, 2022

Mounties say some of the vehicles and protesters who camped out over the weekend have since packed up and left the area.

The arrests and border closure came after a so-called Freedom Convoy travelled from Chilliwack to Surrey on Saturday.

Photos taken Saturday afternoon and posted online showed the group at the actual border, and not camped out at Hwy. 15 and 8th Avenue like they previously had been.

According to the Surrey RCMP’s Cpl. Vanessa Munn, a few commercial trucks and military-style vehicles broke through an RCMP barricade driving the wrong way down 176 Street.

“While no injuries were reported as a result of the incident, this had the potential for harm to pedestrians and first responders. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated and is being investigated,” she said.

Munn says Mounties were working closely with provincial and federal RCMP units, as well as the Canada Border Services Agency.

“The RCMP’s objective is to restore the orderly flow of traffic in the safest manner possible.”

By Saturday evening, much of the crowd had dispersed but there were still many people walking in the area as of Sunday afternoon.

The area near the border remains blocked off by a heavy police presence on 176 Street and feeder routes.

A separate convoy drove through the Okanagan to Osoyoos Saturday, where Mayor Sue McKortoff says she hoped demonstrators wouldn’t block the border crossing.

The demonstration did eventually make its way to the border.

Related Articles: 

• Protest convoys clogging border entries ‘sabotaging’ struggling businesses: advocates

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

In Victoria, police said they deployed temporary closed-circuit TV cameras to support operations and ensure public safety during Saturday protests at the legislature.

Ahead of the demonstrations, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce wrote an open letter to governments asking them to give police the support and appropriate tools needed to restore public order as protests against COVID-19 measures disrupt border traffic across the country.

Anita Huberman heads the Surrey Board of Trade, which is a member of the business group, and said businesses can’t take any more of this. She says even before the so-called Freedom Convoys, the supply chain was stretched. However, Huberman says these demonstrations add unnecessary strain and are “choking” businesses.

“It’s unacceptable, and they’re sabotaging the economy,” she said.

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.

Many provincial restrictions are set to expire next week on Feb. 16 at 11:59 p.m., but the province has extended restrictions in the past, often with very little notice.

The RCMP is advising the public to check for road closure information on Drivebc.ca, and monitor local media for information and alternate routes.