The call comes a month after VicPD scaled back their presence at the weekly events
Organizers of weekly pro-Palestine marches in downtown Victoria are demanding that police resume providing “reasonable traffic control,” a month after VicPD scaled back its presence.
Maureen Stone, one of the march organizers, said police are obliged under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to provide traffic safety measures for the marches, which began just over two years ago, or to present legal analysis “justifying withdrawal from their duties in public safety.”
“This is an obligation to provide public safety,” Stone said Tuesday at a news conference outside Victoria police headquarters on Caledonia Avenue, flanked by about two dozen others wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags.
A retired United Church minister and a member of the Independent Jewish Voices spoke in support of the group.
Organizers said they plan to lodge complaints about VicPD with the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner.
Reading from prepared remarks, Stone said VicPD framed the protest as a “Jewish and Muslim” matter when they announced the decision to pull back from policing the regular marches in traffic lanes on Government and Douglas streets. Both religious communities were informed about the decision at the time.
Stone noted that Victoria Police Chief Fiona Wilson tagged two Jewish pro-Israel lobby organizations in a social media post commemorating the Holocaust in 2024, when Wilson was a deputy police chief in Vancouver.
At the time, Wilson was taking part in the #WeRemember social media campaign from the World Jewish Congress and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
Stone said the post is proof that Wilson supports the two organizations, which characterize Israel’s military operations in Gaza as an act of self-defence.
“A reasonable observer would infer that Chief Wilson’s personal political commitments have improperly influenced VicPD’s operations. This is a reasonable apprehension that VicPD’s position is not impartial,” she said.
After the news conference, VicPD spokesperson Tiffany Parton told the Times Colonist that police need time to parse the allegations from the march organizers.
However, Parton, who did not attend the news conference, said police do not have any obligation under the charter to provide “full traffic support” as requested by march organizers.
“If it was a one-off, absolutely,” she said. “But we are on week 132.”
VicPD said in a statement later Tuesday that the decision to pull back traffic support was rooted in employee wellness and “operational realities.”
Police have been in talks with rally organizers for over two years on issues such as safety, logistics and expectations during demonstrations, it said.
“VicPD will continue to monitor demonstrations and respond as required where public safety concerns arise. Participants are encouraged to remain on the Legislature grounds and adjacent sidewalks, where demonstrations can take place safely.”
Wilson’s participation in commemorative events, such as National Holocaust Memorial Day, is separate from day-to-day policing decisions, VicPD said.
Anas Al Salah, a protest organizer, said there has been one security incident since police stopped directing traffic away from the 100 to 200 protesters who show up every week.
Al Salah said a man on a mobility scooter repeatedly rammed a member of the march’s eight-person safety team while protesters were marching through the streets.
In another incident that occurred on the grounds of the legislature, a man that Al Salah characterized as a Zionist and a supporter of the Persian monarchy “kind of stumbled into our rally and he was taken away by police.”
Asked if the marches will continue despite the risk in not having a police traffic presence, Al Salah said: “We are marching against genocide and apartheid and occupation … the marches will not stop until this complicity ends.”
He dismissed criticisms of the disruptive nature of the marches and rallies as complaints by “Zionists.”
“What’s disruptive is killing children and women on a daily basis,” he said, adding Canada needs to take responsibility for its part in the war.
The federal government has been criticized by advocates for allowing some military exports to Israel.
Al Salah said that the weekly rally and march receive lots of support from those passing by.