A confrontation took place between anti-vaccine card protesters and Vancouver courthouse sheriffs Monday morning.
“This is our lawful courthouse,” one protester said to the sheriff who assures them they have the right to protest outside.
The protest is organized by a group called Canadian Society for the Advancement of Science in Public Policy.
Some people in the crowd Monday are anti-vaccine, some are anti-vaccine card, some are anti-media and some are all those things.
The group has said it is seeking an injunction to halt B.C.’s vaccine card program.
However, sheriffs told Global News the hearing does not appear on today’s court list.
“There is a queue that we are in, apparently, that we are going to be fighting for a stay, which is an injunction, which basically means to put a stop or pause to certain policies, regulations,” one of the protesters, who did not give his name, told Global News.
Vancouver police said they are aware of this rally at the courthouse and the one planned for noon at city hall.
Officers said they support everyone’s right to assemble and protest but anyone breaking the law or putting others at risk could be arrested.
“While we support peoples’ rights to assemble, that doesn’t give anyone permission to harass or endanger others, to block emergency vehicles, or to limit other peoples’ ability to move around the city,” Sgt. Steve Addison of the VPD said in a release.
“Anyone who breaks the law or endangers the public during a protest could be arrested.”
Meanwhile, in Victoria, about 20 people gathered outside local media outlets protesting vaccine mandates and other public health requirements.
One person held a sign reading “Ignore the B.C. HELLth SCAMpaign.”
Another read “Media Malfeasance enablers of medical fraud. Nuremberg 2.0.”
One woman did show up to show her support of vaccines, holding a sign saying “Vaccines save lives. Ignorance kills.”