B.C. Premier John Horgan says “there will be no occupation in Victoria” and that those heading to there in trucks on Monday should “get a hobby.”
Organizers of another trucker demonstration against COVID-19 requirements have said they plan to occupy the capital.
The grounds around the legislature have been the site of numerous protests the last few weeks, with the number of participants escalating every weekend.
But the organizers of this event have committed to staying for months.
“I know here in the city of Victoria, Del Manak, chief of police, has plans in place ready to go,” Horgan told reporters at an unrelated news conference on Friday.
“I would just say to these people, goodness me, get a hobby. Find something else to do with your time. We are removing restrictions at a pace that is consistent with the work we’ve done for the past two years, and 94 per cent of adults in B.C. are vaccinated.”
Victoria police issued a notice to residents who may be concerned, saying “safe, peaceful and lawful protests will be protected” but that officers will be there to respond to any issues.
Horgan said the police in Victoria learned lessons from the convoy in Ottawa, whose downtown core was crippled for weeks under a trucker convoy. Dozens of people were arrested, and some organizers are still in jail as the matter moves through the courts.
He said there is a distinct difference between protest and disrupting the lives of others.
“We are spending an awful lot of time with a small group of people who seem to have nothing better to do with their time but to drive around in circles honking their horns,” Horgan said.
“Give your head a shake. Find a better way to take your energies and put it to positive outcomes. That’s my recommendation, and I’m hopeful that some of the people who were planning to come here will take that to heart and do the right thing: Find positive pursuits for your excess energy.”
– with files from Amy Judd and Kylie Stanton