Anti-vaccine mandate protest in Vancouver will disrupt hospitals, officials say

Health-care workers in Vancouver are bracing for disruption as an anti-vaccine mandate protest on Saturday is set to pass key hospitals and institutions. 

The protest is one of numerous anti-vaccine mandate demonstrations in the country, a week after a similar protest saw hundreds take to the streets across the province. A poster for Saturday's rally described it as "The Media is the Virus Convoy".

Counter-protests were planned on Saturday in Vancouver as residents have criticized the police response to the Canada-wide rallies.

The Vancouver Police Department said in a tweet that counter-protesters had met the convoy on Terminal Avenue and traffic was at a standstill as of 11 a.m. PT. Traffic has now resumed on the street, and the convoy has split off into multiple routes, the VPD said.

The convoy is set to eventually settle in downtown Vancouver, but will pass the Vancouver General Hospital, Mount Saint Joseph Hospital, and St. Paul's Hospital. A similar protest is also planned in Victoria outside the B.C. Legislative Assembly.

Aman Grewal, president of the B.C. Nurses' Union, called the potential traffic disruption and noise generated by the protesters "unacceptable."

"[Last week's disruptions] impacted our community in terms of our patients and our nurses who are at the health sites trying to provide care," she told CBC News.

"I've heard stories where, you know, it's impacted the patients who are just wanting to go outside to get a breath of fresh air … there's been constant noise going on for endless hours."

Grewal said the protests were "morally distressing" for B.C.'s health-care workers as the system is stretched to the limit during the fifth wave of the pandemic.

"I hope that the City of Vancouver and the [hospitals] are going to make sure that there is an element of safety provided to our members and to our citizens of B.C.," she said.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart condemned the anti-vaccine mandate protests in a statement on Friday, saying he had been briefed by the VPD and emergency planners on the demonstration.

"While every Canadian has a right to peaceful and respectful protest, nobody has the right to promote hate, jeopardize the safety of our communities, or interfere with access for patients, staff, or first responders," he said.

"Hate has no place in our city. We all have to stand together against hate in all its forms, including when it targets frontline and health-care workers."

The VPD said Friday that they are expecting "significant traffic delay" due to the protests, and extra officers would be working to mitigate the disruption.