Over 160 people gathered in Kelowna for a rally, protesting the public health orders and restrictions in place, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
They say Canadians’ rights and freedoms are being taken away by the government.
“Why have they locked down our economy, why have they shut down all elective surgeries. People have died because of those surgeries being cancelled and you don’t hear about that from the government, it’s not talked about,” said David Lindsey, one of the event’s speakers.
“We’re here to get the information, talk about the statistics and what they (the government) is doing to falsify the information given to British Columbians.”
The flyer, promoting the event, stated “hugs allowed and no masks required.” RCMP attended for a short time but no citations for violating public health orders were issued.
“(To) those small number of people who are breaking the rules despite being warned, despite putting people at risk particularly in our own communities and are own families, we have some tools we can use to support enforcement,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer.
Numerous speakers addressed the crowd, talking about a variety of issues including vaccines, COVID-19 health orders and cell phone towers.
“There is a real legitimate fear about mandatory vaccinations coming in in the future. There is a real legitimate fear about that and as a result there are a lot of people here,” said Lindsey.
An Okanagan doctor attended the rally saying he agrees with the sentiment that the government has gone too far with COVID-19 restrictions.
“I wanted to show support to the dissenters because I believe the public health measures that have been taken recently are not beneficial to the greater society,” said Dr. Balazs Gerloczy, an Okanagan pathologist.
“I do believe it has been a mistake.”
Dr. Gerloczy has a message for government officials.
“Look at the economic effects, look at the health effects and don’t lock down anymore. Protect the elderly and protect the vulnerable and let the rest of society go on with their lives.”
The event was hosted by the Common Law Education and Rights Initiative Group — which has held similar protests in the past, but as for future events the group says it prefers to remain confidential about its plans.