Calgary police ask protesters to 'stay away' from Beltline this weekend

Calgary police have issued a statement asking protesters and counter-protesters to stay away from the Beltline this weekend. 

"We are asking anyone who intends to protest in the Beltline and 17th Avenue area to instead stay away. We all want our downtown to be a safe and welcoming place and we need your help to make that happen," Calgary Police Service said in an emailed statement Wednesday. 

A police spokesperson said the statement is aimed at anybody thinking of going to a Beltline protest on either side. 

Protests in Calgary against COVID-19 public health restrictions started nearly two years ago. They have continued in the Beltline each week, despite the fact that most of the province's mandates have been lifted. In recent weeks, counter-protesters have started demonstrating in the area at the same time. 

"I'm surprised that this is the strategy that took two days to come up with," said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, in response to the police statement. On Tuesday, Gondek sent a letter to the Calgary Police Commission on behalf of city council regarding the ongoing protests.

"I'm fairly certain I heard organizers of the protest indicate that they have no intention of not protesting this weekend. So one can only assume that their advice is pointed toward residents and businesses. Which makes me scratch my head," Gondek said. 

The statement released by police will not deter anti-mandate protesters, wrote Jake Eskesen, who has been regularly attending the anti-mandate protests in the Beltline. 

"The event will proceed as planned and we will commit to having a [dialogue] with officers on the ground," he wrote in an emailed statement to CBC News. 

Eskesen said that the anti-mandate protesters are a "grassroots" group, and that while many people are individually minded, the main focus of the demonstration at its current stage is to protest federal restrictions. 

He cited "travel restrictions for international flights, domestic flights, as well as the cross-border trucking mandate ... and of course a lot of mistrust with the provincial government," as reasons for the group's continued protests. 

Eskesen said that the group has considered other locations — including federal and provincial buildings within the city — but noted that these sites don't allow for "maximum exposure."

Hunter Yaworski, spokesperson for counter-protest group Community Solidarity YYC, said their demonstration will also not be dissuaded by the police statement.

Yaworski said he feels the ongoing anti-mandate protests are not being properly handled by police. He wants to see more enforcement on things like parking infractions and blocking of critical infrastructure such as a major roadway in Calgary. 

"Ultimately, we want the madness to end. We want our Saturday afternoons back," Yaworski said. 

"They've been going on for a long time, and they would probably continue to go on. We don't want any conflicts, and obviously we don't want any sort of aggression. We just want to demonstrate to the [protesters] and other people in the city of Calgary that enough is enough."

Police said they will release more details later this week about safety planning developments and what they're doing to minimize disruption. 

Police commission to hold special meeting

The Calgary Police Commission, which provides independent civilian oversight and governance of the Calgary Police Service, will hold a special meeting this Friday to discuss the response plan for the protests. 

"Like city council, we have also received hundreds of emails and phone calls from Calgarians about these protests. We completely understand the impact this is having on the residents and businesses in the Beltline and want to make it end," commission chair Shawn Cornett wrote in an emailed statement. 

"This is an unprecedented situation that is extremely complicated legally and from a policing perspective, but we need to find a way to stop the disruptions that are undermining many residents' ability to enjoy their homes, businesses and community."

The commission said the service has assured them that they are looking at bylaw enforcement options, but said that ticketing organizers and attendees has proven "ineffective" in prior anti-mandate protests. 

"Many tickets issued during the pandemic have also not been prosecuted due to a lack of capacity in the court system, further reducing the deterrent tickets pose."

Protests are not illegal 

Kelly Sundberg, a criminologist and professor at Mount Royal University, says it's important to remember that the protests are legal. He said the role of police is to keep the peace and ensure order. 

"Police are not responsible for addressing the root causes of social tension, and the strain on social cohesion in our society, in our city," Sundberg said. 

He said the police strategy thus far has been to reduce the possibility of violence, as social media has fanned the flames on both sides. 

"I think police have been successful in their past management of these protests, and the evidence is that no one has been seriously hurt, and there's been very minimal damage," he said, adding he thinks the idea that ticketing would help is short-sighted. 

"I don't think that the protesters who have repeatedly come out to protest … bylaw tickets aren't going to change these people's minds or behaviour," he said. 

Sundberg said the statement from police is an attempt to keep protest numbers low. 

"I think [Chief Mark Neufeld] is simply trying to do everything he can, pull out every possible tool in his toolbox — including this press release — to keep the numbers as low as possible."