Vancouver Police said they spent an estimated $105,000 on patrolling anti-Trump protests on the day of the grand opening of Vancouver’s Trump Tower last week.
Cst. Jason Doucette said the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) budgets for a number of demonstrations and protests throughout the city each year, and the protests that day fell under that umbrella.
“$105,000 is a lot of money,” said Doucette. “At the end of the year, we will have a real vision about how much this has affected our budget.”
Doucette said ensuring the security of Trump Tower employees was not part of their policing costs.
He says there was a $4,000 charge-back to the RCMP for the service that the VPD provided, but Doucette said he was not aware if any of the policing costs have been picked up by the hotel.
Doucette said the cost did not just include patrolling the rally in front of the Trump Tower, but the various demonstrations that took place throughout the city that day.
The $360-million hotel and condominium development has become a focal point for demonstrations against U.S. President Donald Trump in Vancouver.
The building had a soft launch last month, but last Tuesday, Trump’s eldest sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, along with daughter Tiffany Trump, attended the grand opening of the 69-storey building. The Trumps joined Holborn CEO Joo Kim Tiah and his father, Tony Tiah Thee Kian — one of Malaysia’s richest businessmen — for the official ceremony.
It is estimated the protests throughout the city drew hundreds of people.
-With files from the Canadian Press and Jill Slattery
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