The Vancouver Police Department is planning to get out front of any potential conflict that may arise Saturday when a pair of far-right extremist groups stage their first rally at Vancouver City Hall.
Members of the World Coalition Against Islam (WCAI) and the Cultural Action Party of Canada (CAP) intend to gather at 12th and Cambie at 2 p.m. Saturday, news that was met with a massive counter-protest response.
“We are prepared for this event,” said Sgt. Jason Robillard. “We are aware of what’s going on in the States and we’re closely monitoring any intelligence that we get so that we can come up with the best response possible.”
The rally’s Facebook page does not state an intended goal, nor is a specific message being spread. WCAI founder Joey Deluca and CAP founder Brad Salzberg are slated to be in attendance, as are members of the Soldiers of Odin (SOO). Members of SOO have been linked to racist ideologies in Europe, and members of the B.C. chapter have participated in controversial “patrols” of downtown Vancouver.
"We are protesting against the social policies of the Liberal government," Salzberg told the Courier via email. "Multicultural and refugee policy in particular."
The CAP website contains material critical of the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Islam. The term “Canadian values” is also used, along with a handful of tenets the group ascribes to:
- We represent social conservative values.
- We value traditional Canadian heritage.
- We promote Canada's official languages.
- We preserve English Canadian identity.
"Cultural Action Party has never made a statement that we are anti-immigration. We are not," Salzberg said. "The issue regarding immigration is that rather than based upon economic need, immigration policy is a political tool to grab as many votes as possible in order to consolidate power for the ruling party."
When asked to clarify his position specifically as it relates to Islam, Salzberg offered the following:
"What CAP [opposes] is the entrenchment of Sharia Law within Canadian society and its institutions," he said. "CAP is not a white supremacist organization. We are concerned with culture, identity, history, heritage - not race. We have many supporters who are from outside the Anglophone and Francophone communities."
The comments on the Facebook event page for the rally are rife with homophobic slurs and contempt for Islam. Online profiles of both Salzberg and Deluca contain deep disdain for left-leaning people and policies.
WCAI members staged a rally in Calgary in late June that was met with similar opposition, leading to police intervention in front of Calgary city hall.
Described as an ad hoc group made up of “teachers, students and activists,” Stand Up to Racism Metro Van will be on hand Saturday to “counter the racist rally.”
“Racists and Islamophobic groups are rallying at City Hall to spew hatred against Muslims, immigrants and people of colour in our communities,” the group’s Facebook manifesto states. “We, the anti-racist majority, want to be there in a peaceful counter protest to say no to Islamophobia and no to racism!”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the counter protest’s Facebook page suggested 1,600 attendees plan on showing up compared to 18 planning to take in the right-leaning rally.
Coalition Against Bigotry — Pacific founder Imtiaz Popat told the Courier his group won’t attend Saturday’s counter protest. Coalition members have attended similar counter protests this year, where Popat says they were attacked by members of Soldiers of Odin.
“We are encouraging people not to confront [the Soldiers of Odin],” he said.
Robillard said additional VPD officers would likely be on hand, but added that he did not have an exact number. Those numbers will not be made public.
“We want to promote a peaceful protest rally Saturday and that’s our intention… These types of rallies, like any type of rally, are very fluid,” Robillard said. “There’s still information coming in. We are monitoring the situation and what I can tell you is that we are prepared to improvise, adapt to any type of event that we have.”
— This story has been updated since first published.
— with files from Jessica Kerr
