SERVICE OR POLICY AGENDA ITEM #5.2

VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT

REPORT TO THE POLICE BOARD

REPORT DATE: March 31, 2020 COMMITTEE MEETING DATE: April 16, 2020 BOARD REPORT # 2004C03 Regular

TO: Vancouver Police Board Service and Policy Complaint Review Committee

FROM: Drazen Manojlovic, Director, Planning, Research and Audit Section

SUBJECT: Service or Policy Complaint #2020-005 Response to Protests

RECOMMENDATION:

THAT the Vancouver Police Board Service and Policy Complaint Review Committee (Committee) concludes its review of the complaint based on information outlined in this report.

SUMMARY:

This past year has seen a rise in multiple, global climate and environmental movements, resulting in several large-scale protests in Vancouver. The effects of these protests have resulted in disruption to infrastructure and transportation sites. Three separate Service or Policy Complaints were made with concerns over the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD) perceived inactions or delays in response to these protests.

It is acknowledged that protests sometimes cause significant inconvenience to the public. The VPD responds to each protest in a manner that is proportionate, legal, accountable, necessary, and ethical. The VPD’s approach and philosophy recognizes that the needs of society have to be balanced with the rights of citizens to free speech, while ensuring the safety and well-being of protestors, the public, and police officers. The fundamental freedoms of Section 2 in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms must be upheld while also balancing against other dynamics that make up protest events.

Every year the VPD evaluates over 500 protests and demonstrations and deploys officers to more than 200 of these events. Each protest involves a case-by-case assessment that takes into consideration multiple risk factors. This assessment helps guide the deployment of police resources. With regard to the recent protests, each protest was assessed, evaluated on its merit and available information, and the police response was legal, justified and proportionate to the circumstances at hand. All of the protests, from September 2019 to March 2020, resulted in 70 people being arrested. There were no reported injuries to protesters, members of the public, or police officers. As such, it is recommended that the Committee conclude its review of the complaint based on the information outlined in this report. RELEVANT POLICY:

VPD Public Demonstration Guidelines https://vancouver.ca/police/assets/pdf/reports-policies/public-demonstration-guidelines.pdf

BACKGROUND:

Beginning in 2019, there has been a growing international youth movement to address climate change. In the fall of 2019, youth environmental activist Greta Thunberg led a rally in front of the attended by 12,000-15,000 people. In a related event, it was estimated that over 100,000 people marched from Vancouver’s City Hall, across the Bridge, to . Also, in October 2019, Extinction Rebellion, which is another movement, occupied the Burrard Street Bridge for most of a day, which ended with arrests.

In February 2020, both locally and nationally, protests began to emerge on a daily basis, related to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline in support of the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs. In Vancouver, the VPD was dealing with multiple pipeline protests that created significant traffic disruption and targeted infrastructure/transportation by occupying entrances, railway tracks, bridges, and major intersections. This caused delays to the flow of goods and services throughout the country causing economic impacts. Arrests were made with some of these protests.

In February 2020, the Vancouver Police Board received three separate Service or Policy Complaints related to the aforementioned events. The complaints raised concerns over the VPD’s response to the protests; specifically, the perceived inactions or delays of police enforcement which allowed the protests to carry on for extended periods. This report will address all three complaints.

DISCUSSION:

National and global issues formed the root causes of these protests, which affected numerous provinces across Canada simultaneously. From Indigenous rights to environmental concerns, these issues were multi-faceted and not easily solved through negotiation with protesters. The resolution of these issues is far broader-reaching than the police. With that, the police response was proportional, giving consideration to the longevity of these issues and their complicated resolutions.

The VPD’s Public Demonstration Guidelines on protests reflect best practices and represents the VPD’s overarching policing philosophy and position with regard to protests. The Guidelines were approved by the Vancouver Police Board in 2015, updated in 2017, and are publically available online (see link at the top of this page). In almost all instances, events proceed safely, without violence, property damage, or injury to protesters, the public, and police officers.

The VPD recognizes the need to balance the interests of the public with the rights of individuals and groups to free speech and their democratic right to protest. The VPD must always consider and uphold Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

Fundamental Freedoms Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and

2 (d) freedom of association.

It is important to understand that all protests and demonstrations are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. When evaluating protests and demonstrations, there are a number of criteria that factor into the decision-making on the type of police deployment that is required:

1) the safety of the protestors (e.g. the composition of protestors which may include children, families, and the elderly); 2) the safety of the general public (e.g. risk violence or property damage); 3) the safety of VPD members (e.g. the number of officers deployed, other simultaneous policing priorities); 4) the location of the protest (e.g., is the protest on public or private property or is it blocking critical infrastructure and transportation sites?); and 5) the legal authorities for police intervention (e.g. S.2 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Criminal Code, Motor Vehicle Act, court injunctions, etc.).

The VPD has a specialized and well trained Public Safety Unit that aligns its approach with leading practices from police agencies across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The aim is to develop crowd management tactics that are proportionate, legal, accountable, necessary, and ethical. The VPD’s response to each protest was carefully considered through pre-event planning along with an ongoing and on-site assessment by highly trained Public Order Commanders and their teams. The Commanders and their teams aimed to establish communication with protesters to ensure the safe resolution of the event. Of note, of those protestors arrested since September 2019:

• forty-one individuals were arrested for Breach of a Supreme Court Order, however charges were not forwarded to Crown Counsel as per the discretion of the property representative; • eleven individuals had criminal charges of Obstruction of a Peace Officer forwarded; however, they did not meet Crown Counsel’s threshold for charge approval; and • eight had criminal charges approved by Crown Counsel.

This information forms part of the decision-making when considering a course of action in policing protests.

CONCLUSION:

The VPD acknowledges that protests do cause disruption to the public. The needs of society must be balanced with the rights of people to protest, while ensuring the safety and well-being of protestors, the public, and police officers. For all protests, the VPD assesses each on a case-by- case basis, evaluates each on its merits and available information, and strives for a police response that is legally justified, thoroughly planned out, and proportionate to the circumstances at hand. Therefore, it is recommended that the Committee conclude its review of the complaint based on the information outlined in this report.

Author: Sergeant Alvin Shum Telephone: 604-717-2688 Date: March 31, 2020

Submitting Executive Member:

DCC. Howard Chow Date: April 2, 2020

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