As hundreds of people protested against mandatory vaccination for health-care workers outside Sechelt Hospital on Sept. 1, across the street hiwus (Chief) Warren Paull and members of shíshálh Nation looked on while wearing masks.
The next day, Paull and council signed a press release saying the protesters did not have permission to be there.
“Without permission of the Nation, people protested on our lands, sang our women’s warrior song (which insulted us), and put our people at risk by gathering in a large group without masks,” the nation’s press release read.
While hiwus and council acknowledged the right to protest, they also said the nation would continue to urge community members to get vaccinated and follow public health guidelines.
“The shíshálh Nation agrees people should stand up for what they believe in, but we do not support the anti-vax protest taking place in our swiya and find it reckless. We ask that protesters consider the land you protest on, the songs you sing and the message your actions convey,” hiwus and council said.
Some protesters told Coast Reporter they were given permission by a hereditary chief of shíshálh Nation to protest in front of the hospital, and pointed out the Women’s Warrior Song was not sung until a member of the nation was present. A participant in the protest noted that the Women’s Warrior Song is a shared song.
The protest was one of many across British Columbia and Canada called the “World Wide Walkout” by a group named Canadian Frontline Workers. People gathered to speak out against vaccinations for health care workers, and the proposed vaccination passport.
A media spokesperson for BC Emergency Health Services (BC EHS) told Coast Reporter there were no reported impacts, significant incidents or concerns raised by ambulance service during the protest at Sechelt Hospital. Although there were reports of slowdowns through areas in the province congested by protesters, BC EHS said no ambulances were redirected on Sept. 1.
Participants also said the protest was not anti-vax, but in solidarity with hospital workers. An event notice on the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country PPC [People’s Party of Canada] Association’s website said vaccinated and unvaccinated people were welcome to stand in solidarity against mandatory vaccines.
Chris MacGregor, who is running as an Independent in the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding, told Coast Reporter at the event that the protest was not political, and that he was there not as a candidate. MacGregor works part-time in maintenance at Sechelt Hospital, and said he is concerned for his job.
“It's a people’s movement started out by one little thing across the internet, and it just spread,” MacGregor said at the protest. “This is not just here in Sechelt, this is across the whole country. Right now, people are standing up at one o’clock and saying, ‘No, we can't take this... We don't want the vaccinations. We don’t want to be forced to vaccinate, we don't want to lose our job if we don't vaccinate.’ We have a right to our freedom.”
The nation’s press release addressed the issue of freedom, as well.
“Signs proclaimed freedom of choice, but for those of us on the opposite side of the highway, there was no choice. We had to endure a noisy crowd and honking cars for hours, chants over a megaphone and marchers with placards,” hiwus and council said.
“The anti-vax message is in direct opposition to the messages we’ve communicated to our Nation members for the last year and we believe it’s a dangerous message. You do have the right not to be vaccinated; but that comes with a responsibility to not bring harm to others who are at risk because of your choice.”
