Consider yourself warned
RCMP Superintendent takes unusual step by releasing video
Anyone attending a large rally against public health measures planned for Kelowna this Saturday could be fined by police, RCMP Supt. Kara Triance says.
In an unusual video statement, Triance denounces what she describes as plans for a “mega rally” and says it would be an illegal event whose participants could be fined.
“This is unlawful and it’s putting our community in danger,” Triance says in the two-minute video, released on YouTube and the B.C. RCMP website.
Current public health orders designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 prohibit public gatherings, Triance said. She urges people not to attend the rally.
For several months, rallies against public health orders have been a regular fixture on Saturday afternoons in downtown Kelowna. Police have ticketed the selfproclaimed organizer of the rallies three times, but individual participants have not been fined.
In the Wednesday video, Triance suggests that could change this Saturday.
“Anyone not following the regulations set out by the public health orders can face fines,” she said.
Such rallies, Triance said, present a risk to both police officers and the general public for their potential to cause the spread of COVID-19.
“However, our officers will be present, collecting evidence as part of our investigation, and there to keep the public safe,” Triance said. “Our findings will be shared with our partners at the provincial health authority and the B.C. Prosecution Service.”
The City of Kelowna also issued a statement advising people not to attend the rally.
“People have the right to protest peacefully, but they do not have the right to potentially spread a virus that can be lifethreatening to people in our community,” the statement said. “We’ve seen many times how it only takes one infected individual to cause an outbreak.
“Kelowna is an inclusive city where we respect each other’s rights, and that includes the right to feel safe during a pandemic,” Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says in the release.
An organizer of the ongoing Kelowna rallies has been given three tickets, totalling almost $7,000 in fines, the city says.
“Those fines will continue and we are in conversation with the provincial government and Crown Counsel to substantially increase the fine amount for people who repeatedly flout the law and put our residents at risk,” the city statement said.