Mayor Jyoti Gondek is calling on law enforcement to take more action against people protesting COVID-19 mandates in Calgary’s Beltline neighbourhood.
Tensions were high Saturday afternoon between anti-mandate protestors, counter-protestors and police as the groups met along 17th Avenue S.W. for the second weekend in a row.
Calgary police estimate there were 2,000 protestors on Saturday.
In a Twitter thread, Gondek called the anti-mandate protest a “parade” without any permits or licenses. She also questioned why bylaws weren’t being enforced.
“This is not about mandates. Those are gone. By waiting for this to die out, enforcement agencies have allowed it to grow. Telling residents/businesses to wait it out = shameful,” she wrote.
1/4 I spoke with Beltline residents & businesses this morning. I was in the Beltline this afternoon. The weekly disruption this community faces is not a “protest”. It’s a parade. At Central Memorial Park, it’s a festival with merch & food vendors. Yet no permits or licenses.
Anti-mandate demonstrators waved Canadian flags, honked horns and shouted ‘freedom’ on Saturday, as they turned onto 17th Avenue from Fourth Street S.W. before encountering a smaller group of counter-protestors.
Police attempted to keep the two groups apart, but protestors came face-to-face with only a line of police separating them. Eventually, anti-mandate protestors made it past the group of counter-protestors to continue down 17th Avenue S.W.
According to police, the confrontation between the two groups blocked the area for more than an hour.
Videos circulated on social media showed at least one officer seemingly pushing back counter-protesters. In some of the videos police are seen using bikes to push protestors.
“It is important to be cognizant that these demonstrations occurred over several hours and individual photos and short video clips do not always portray the complete the picture,” Calgary police said in an email statement.
“Our members worked with all parties in attempt to negotiate an alternative that allowed them to peacefully demonstrate, however after receiving limited cooperation and recognizing the volatility of the situation, officers had to take action to avoid further escalation of the crowd and minimize the disruption to nearby residents and businesses.”
The police added that officers collected “a significant amount of evidence” which they will review with investigators to determine possible enforcement.
Being down in the Beltline today, seeing the unequal treatment of protestors—the impact of these protests runs deep<br><br>It’s damaging everything we want to accomplish as a city.<br><br>I’ve spent the day hearing from residents, businesses, and my colleagues.<br><br>I’m standing with you <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyc?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yyc</a> <a href=”https://t.co/UfCXhLnyx7″>https://t.co/UfCXhLnyx7</a>
Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott, who represents the area and is also a member of the Calgary Police Commission, tweeted his support for Beltline residents on Saturday, calling action by police “a failure.”
“Being down in the Beltline today, seeing the unequal treatment of protestors—the impact of these protests runs deep,” said Walcott.
“One group was met with aggression, the other, submission. If the intended outcome was non violence, today was a failure.”
Walcott added that he has raised his concerns with the police commission and the city.
Beltline residents frustrated
While anti-mandate protestors have been active in the Beltline area for around a year, a smaller group of counter-protestors has now formed.
Counter-protestors have said they are standing in solidarity with Beltline’s residents and businesses who have grown increasingly frustrated with the anti-mandate demonstrations over the past months.
Counter-protestors said they are standing in solidarity with Beltline residents and businesses who are frustrated with the anti-mandate demonstrations that have been happening on Saturdays over the past year. (Helen Pike/CBC)
Hunter Yaworski, spokesperson for the group said that their aim is to reclaim the Beltline on Saturday afternoons.
“We are allowed to be here and voice our opinions and frustrations to [the anti-mandate demonstrators],” said Yaworski.
“I can’t go down 17th Avenue and feel safe, it’s incredibly loud, a lot of people I know just leave their house all day because they don’t want to hear the constant noise.”
Yaworski said many Beltline residents are unclear why the anti-mandate protests have continued in light of the Alberta government ending almost all COVID-19-related restrictions on March 1.
Anti-mandate demonstrators held anti-Trudeau signs and sang the Canadian anthem as they made their way down 17th avenue S.W.
Protesters and police clashed in Calgary’s Beltline as anti-mandate protests continue and residents and their supporters stand their ground. (Helen Pike/CBC)
One vocal supporter of the demonstrations, who was unable to attend Saturday’s protest, told CBC and other media in a statement that he planned to continue joining the rallies to protest federal international travel restrictions and those who had been ‘unjustly’ put on leave from their jobs due to their vaccination status.
Jake Eskesen said he had lost trust in the Alberta government and provincial health services.
Both city council and the police have expressed concern in the last week over the two protest groups meeting.
“It concerns me because, obviously, anytime you have two groups of people that are sort of in opposition ideologically or otherwise, you know, that does ramp up the volatility and the potential for violence,” Chief Mark Neufeld said earlier in the week.
Neufeld noted that while he appreciates the frustration of Beltline residents, the anti-mandate protests, while disruptive, are legal.
Coun. Walcott told the Calgary Eyeopener on Wednesday that as time has gone on, it’s become unclear what the protesters want.
“For the last year, it’s been about public health measures. But here we are, in a province where we don’t have any, and yet they continue,” said Walcott. “So I think the goalposts have moved so much that no one can pin down what this is about anymore.”
LONGUEUIL, Que. – People in a part of Longueuil, Que., were being asked to stay indoors with their doors and windows closed on Thursday morning after a train derailed, spilling an unknown quantity of hydrogen peroxide.
Police from the city just east of Montreal said it didn’t appear anyone was hurt, although a CN rail official told a news conference that three employees had been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure.
The derailment happened at around 9 a.m. in the LeMoyne area, near the intersection of St-Louis and St-Georges streets. Mathieu Gaudreault, a spokesman for CN rail, said about eight cars derailed at the Southwark rail facility, including four that toppled over.
“As of this morning, the information we have is it’s hydrogen peroxide that was in the rail car and created the fumes we saw,” he said, adding that there was no risk of fire.
François Boucher, a spokesman for the Longueuil police department, said police were asking people in the area, including students at nearby schools, to stay indoors while experts ensure the air is safe to breathe.
“It is as a preventive measure that we encourage people to really avoid exposing themselves unnecessarily,” he told reporters near the scene.
Police and fire officials were on site, as well as CN railworkers, and a large security perimeter was erected.
Officers were asking people to avoid the sector, and the normally busy Highway 116 was closed in the area. The confinement notice includes everyone within 800 metres of the derailment, officials said, who added that it would be lifted once a team with expertise in dangerous materials has given the green light.
In addition to closing doors and windows, people in the area covered by the notice are asked to close heating, ventilation and air exchange systems, and to stay as far from windows as possible.
Gaudreault said it wasn’t yet clear what caused the derailment. The possibilities include a problem with the track, a problem with a manoeuvre, or a mechanical issue, he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia’s Liberal party is promising to improve cellphone service and invest in major highways if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.
Party leader Zach Churchill says a Liberal government would spend $60 million on building 87 new cellphone towers, which would be in addition to the $66 million the previous Progressive Conservative government committed to similar projects last year.
As well, Churchill confirmed the Liberals want to improve the province’s controlled access highways by adding exits along Highway 104 across the top of the mainland, and building a bypass along Highway 101 near Digby.
Churchill says the Liberals would add $40 million to the province’s $500 million capital budget for highways.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the three major political parties were expected to spend much of today preparing for a televised debate that will be broadcast tonight at 6 p.m. local time.
Churchill will face off against Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston and NDP Leader Claudia Chender during a 90-minute debate that will be carried live on CBC TV and streamed online.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
TORONTO – A group of hotel service workers in Toronto is set to hold a rally today outside the Fairmont Royal York to demand salary increases as hotel costs in the city skyrocket during Taylor Swift’s concerts.
Unite Here Local 75, the union representing 8,000 hospitality workers in the Greater Toronto Area, says Royal York employees have not seen a salary increase since 2021, and have been negotiating a new contract with the hotel since 2022.
The rally comes as the megastar begins her series of six sold-out concerts in Toronto, with the last show scheduled for Nov. 23.
During show weekends, some hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Toronto are priced up to 10 times more than other weekends, with some advertised for as much as $2,000 per night.
The union says hotel workers who will be serving Swifties during her Toronto stops are bargaining for raises to keep up with the rising cost of living.
The union represents hospitality workers including food service employees, room attendants and bell persons.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
