Healthcare workers along Toronto’s Hospital Row are being asked not to wear their regular uniforms or anything else that would identify them to work this weekend as a number of anti-vaccine truckers plan to hold a demonstration at Queen’s Park.
“Toronto Police Service suggests that street clothes are worn when coming to the hospital - not clothing which identifies you as a hospital worker,” a memo sent to hospital workers and obtained by CP24 states -- although the service later denied making the suggestion.
The memo also advises, “out of an abundance of caution,” that staff at hospitals including Women’s College, Mt. Sinai and Sick Kids avoid the downtown core this weekend if they are not working.
Women’s College Hospital also told its staff that its COVID-19 assessment centre will close on Saturday, along with a nearby family practice and urgent care clinic.
Meanwhile in a separate memo to staff, Mount Sinai said that those working this weekend should “make every effort to avoid identifying yourself as a health care worker,” including keeping their ID badges “concealed until you need to use it for screening purposes, and potentially for any police checkpoints.”
Additional security will be set up around the hospitals during the “Convoy for Freedom” demonstration scheduled to take place at Queen’s Park, beginning at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Police also say that they will be closing some roads this weekend to “ensure unimpeded access to hospitals” during a planned trucker protest at Queen’s Park.
While details about the demonstration are limited, organizers are encouraging supporters to gather at one of seven meeting points across the GTA before departing for the legislature.
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, police said that they have been speaking with organizers of the demonstration “to limit disruption” and will have a “large” presence in and around the downtown core all weekend.
They said that they "would not direct hospital workers on whether or not to wear their uniforms" but do understand that "some staff have expressed concerns about being identified as healthcare workers."
"We will have a heightened police presence around hospitals this weekend to ensure staff members, as well as patients and their families, feel safe going to and from work," the statement notes.
While police say that they have “robust plans in place” to maintain safety and order during this weekend’s protest, some officials have expressed concerns about the potential for disruption, including Mayor John Tory.
In a statement issued earlier on Thursday, Tory warned that the city must do “everything” it can to avoid a situation similar to the one in Ottawa, where demonstrators have been parked illegally on roads leading to Parliament Hill since last week and have said that they have no intention of leaving.
There have also been reports that some of the demonstrators in the nation’s capital have engaged in threats and harassment. So far three individuals have been charged criminally and police have issued dozens of tickets for Highway Traffic Act charges. On Wednesday alone eight individuals were ticketed for excessive honking.
“As mayor I of course cannot direct police enforcement, no elected official can or should. But I have made it clear to Chief Ramer that we must work together to do everything we can to avoid the kind of situation currently faced by Ottawa residents and businesses to keep Toronto residents safe and to try to ensure that any protests are respectful and peaceful,” Tory said. “We've shown before that we can do this as a city and I'm confident that if there is to be a protest we can do it again.”
Tory’s remarks on Thursday come one day after councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Mike Layton moved a motion at a council meeting asking the city manager to work with Toronto police to develop and communicate an action plan for this weekend’s protest.
Tory did express concern in his statement that the protest could restrict access to nearby hospitals and “drive customers away” from businesses that only recently reopened. For that reason, he said that he does support police taking “necessary action” to prepare “with a focus on doing everything they can to protect the safety of Toronto residents and businesses.”
“Any protest in the area of Queen's Park absolutely cannot block off access to the hospitals around the legislature – people should not be blocked from receiving emergency care or any medical care and hospital workers, who have been frontline heroes throughout the pandemic, should be able to freely and safely come and go from their workplace,” he said.
In a statement Thursday, Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said that the province is ready to provide additional support to Toronto police if needed for the planned demonstration.
“Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. However, criminal behaviour is never tolerated, and hatred or intolerance must be condemned by all,” Jones said.
Health Minister Christine Elliott also took to Twitter to point out that "While peaceful protest is a democratic right, the area near Queen’s Park is home to many hospitals that provide high-quality, specialized care to patients."
"Intimidation or obstruction of patients & staff from accessing these settings is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," she warned.
Minister of Labour urges protesters to ‘be respectful’
A number of politicians have already urged the Ottawa protesters to go home, including Premier Doug Ford.
But while the crowd has thinned considerably a small number of demonstrators remain and Ottawa police have said that “all options are on the table” to bring the occupation to an end, including asking for support from the Canadian Forces.
On Thursday, Ontario Minister of Labour Monte McNaughton was asked whether members of his government would meet with protesters should a similar demonstration outside Queen’s Park materialize but he refused to answer the question.
“Well certainly we love our truckers. They've kept our supply chains going. I know some of them have concerns with the federal government's mandate. But my message to those truckers that may be coming to Toronto, please be respectful,” he said. “Be peaceful, respect the hospital system and those patients that need to access healthcare and also be mindful of those small businesses that are now just getting their doors open to grow their businesses. So be respectful and follow the rules.”
Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie also expressed concerns about the Ottawa protest during a briefing at city hall on Thursday. She said that while “everyone is entitled to their opinion and the right to free speech” she “draws the line” when people “when people start sharing messages that encourage violence, waving symbols of hate, denigrating sacred war monuments, vandalizing the statue of hero Terry Fox, harassing shelter staff and even taking meals away from the homeless.”
