Victoria police expect another convoy protest, warn of traffic disruptions

Victoria protesters supporting Ottawa convoy Protesters in Victoria are standing in solidarity with those in Ottawa, and police are expecting more rallies outside B.C.'s legislature.

Police are warning residents to expect traffic delays in downtown Victoria due to another protest at the B.C. legislature on Saturday.

The "Freedom Convoy" protests have been occurring every Saturday in Victoria for the past several weeks, with protesters calling for an end to COVID-19 mandates.

Police say they will be in the area to maintain everyone's safety, but add that they will not tolerate any dangerous or unlawful acts.

VicPD notes that several tickets were handed out at last weekend's protest, including fines for excessive noise, having no driver's license, and obstructing traffic.

"Some of these tickets were mailed to drivers after the event had concluded," police said in a release Friday.

Police add that much of downtown Victoria is a controlled airspace, with drones prohibited from flying within 5.6 kilometres of an airport, or 1.9 kilometres of a heliport.

Victoria police also plan to deploy temporary CCTV cameras to monitor for public safety reasons. Signs will be posted notifying pedestrians of where the cameras are set up.

"We have heard and understand the concerns of James Bay residents during recent protest events and will continue to work to minimize disruptions in the area," said VicPD on Friday.

Police are also reminding residents that 911 should be reserved for emergencies or crimes in progress.

"For non-emergency incidents, call the non-emergency line at [phone] and upon hearing the recording, select option 1 for the Report Desk," said VicPD.

"For non-emergency traffic incidents, please have use our online reporting tool here: https://vicpd.ca/services/report-a-crime-online/."