Toronto police are warning those attending planned demonstrations outside hospitals Monday that they could be arrested and charged if they disrupt hospital operations and public safety.
Police posted a message to Twitter about the protests on Sunday evening, saying that while they will respect people's right to protest, it should not interfere with work being done at hospitals.
A group called Canadian Frontline Nurses organized the protests that will also be held in other provinces. In Ontario, the group is planning to gather outside five hospitals, including one in downtown Toronto.
"Officers will be present and monitoring and charges will be laid where warranted," police said.
Toronto Mayor John Tory said Sunday that he had spoken to police Chief James Ramer, who reassured him that officers will be working to ensure staff are protected and access to hospitals remains unobstructed.
Tory called the protest "unacceptable and beyond the pale."
"It's unfair to our health-care heroes and everyone trying to attend hospitals for treatment," he said in a statement.
"As Mayor of Toronto, I absolutely condemn anyone taking part in this so-called protest - you are doing nothing to help people, to protect the progress we have made reopening our city, or make sure we bring this pandemic to an end."
Ontario Premier Doug Ford also spoke against the demonstrations, saying they are "selfish, cowardly and reckless."
"Our health-care workers have sacrificed so much to keep us all safe during this pandemic. They don't deserve this kind of treatment — not now, not ever. Leave our health-care workers alone," Ford tweeted.
Health-care workers, patients should not be target of protests: OHA
This is not the first time that protests will be held outside Canadian hospitals. Since vaccine mandates were announced, hospitals have been targeted by anti-vaccine protests.
Earlier this month, protests outside downtown Toronto hospitals impeded patient access and the harassment of health-care workers, said the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), who called it "disheartening."
On Sunday, the OHA released a statement and expressed their disappointment, urging organizers to move the demonstrations elsewhere.
Anthony Dale, the president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA), said in a statement Sunday that the group is saddened about the plan to gather and protest at hospitals and is seeking support from the Ontario government to protect the facilities.
"Health-care workers and patients receiving care should not be the target of protests," Dale said. "Protests and other legitimate forms of expression about policy should take place in other, more appropriate settings than a hospital."
Ahead of the protests, several doctors and nurses spoke out this weekend against the protests being held outside their workplace.
"It's where people go for safety, for protection, for treatment for love, for peace and sometimes for death," Dr. Michael Warner, a Toronto critical care physician, said in a video posted to Twitter Saturday.
"They're not the place to be yelling and screaming and intimidating, especially when so many people on the other side of the doors of those hospitals are suffering from the disease that certain people refuse to get vaccinated for."
ICU nurse Birgit Umaigba said the protest may force some nurses who fear for their safety to not come to work Monday.
"To see this protest happening just outside of our workplaces and patients being intimidated, health-care workers being intimated as well, it's very disturbing," Umaigba told CTV News Toronto.
Calls for safety zones around hospitals grow
Vikky Leung, a downtown emergency nurse, has started an online petition, calling for legislated safe zones around hospitals to prevent harassment and bullying from protesters and ensure the safety of staff.
The demonstrations have been demoralizing and disheartening, said Leung, adding that she is worried about her patients' safety.
"They have to walk through these protests and it's scary when you're immunocompromised. You don't know if these people are vaccinated, likely they're not, that's why they're protesting," she told CTV News Toronto.
The Ontario NDP is proposing a bill that aims to create "public health safety zones" in an effort to reduce harassment. On Sunday, Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath called on Ford to reconvene the legislature and pass the bill.
"My Safety Zone bill would make this targeted intimidation a provincial offence. Instead of hiding out, Ford can come back to work and pass my bill to stop the harassment right now," she tweeted Sunday.
Earlier this month, the Ford government prorogued the legislature until after the federal election.
The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO) and the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) are also showing their support for safety zones.
In a joint statement issued Sunday, the two groups condemned the protests, saying health-care workers need support more than ever.
"We respect democracy and the rights to protest but these must not be held anywhere where they block entry and exit to health-care facilities, especially access for emergency vehicles or patients seeking emergency care," the statement read.
"The RNAO and OMA also say charges must be pressed against anyone engaging in harassment, aggression or hate speech, if these protests take place."
- with files from Chris Fox and Natalie Johnson.
