Dear editor,
I went to a ‘no mandate’ march in Calgary on Feb. 5. Let me start by saying the "protest" started in front of the Sheldon Chumir Health Centre, not to protest specifically in front of that centre but because a large square where everyone meets at happens to be in front of that centre. If the Memorial Square was somewhere else, that’s where the event would have started. Regarding comments about the protest targeting health-care workers at the Sheldon Chumir Centre, I would say those are false. It’s a matter of location. None of the speakers at the gathering mentioned anything negative about health-care workers. In fact, they were adamant this was to be a peaceful demonstration and march. Then we sang the national anthem.
There were reports the Calgary Police Service (CPS) commented that there were about 1,500 people at the event. The event started at 1 p.m. and maybe at 12:30 p.m., one half hour prior to the start, this may have been an accurate statement. When the march was in full swing, my estimate is the march was at least 10 city blocks long, possibly 15. The people were singing, chanting, and mainly walking quietly and happy. Yes, there were masked people here and there at the side of the road, but everyone was respectful of each other. The only potentially angry person was one masked lady at the side of the road giving a middle finger to all the people marching.
There were Canadian and Alberta flags everywhere. The only non-Canadian flag was a person waving a Syrian flag and their partner waving a Canadian flag. I would suggest a Syrian, especially if they were a refugee, would fully understand what freedom is and more importantly, what happens when you lose it.
As we passed the Sheldon Chumir to end the march back at the Memorial Square where we had started, there was security at the entrance. Everyone minded their own business.
Why do I write this? If these people represent a ‘fringe’ or vocal minority, then the majority should be able to form significantly larger groups to counter what is going on. If this is the ‘fringe’ minority, then why are there groups all over Canada, Finland, Scotland, Holland, etc. doing the same thing? If these people are racist, then why can you see many different races at the event? If they are dangerous, then why is it the closest this came to violence was the one lone masked person giving everyone the finger?
The point of this letter is, rather than listening to the media, or even social media, why not go down and see for yourself and then decide what is going on?
James Trofimuk
Springbank
