Thank you, and good morning.
I am very pleased to be provided the opportunity to speak with you today about my experiences as a public order commander for the Vancouver Police Department. I have been a law enforcement officer for 22 years. I have been a public order commander for five years as one of my roles with the Vancouver Police Department. I was one of the public order commanders for the duration of the 2010 Olympics, including the opening and closing ceremonies, the gold medal hockey game, the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, including being the north commander for the night of the riot. I have led public order responses for many social and political demonstrations throughout the city of Vancouver.
The Vancouver Police Department unequivocally vows to uphold the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and we recognize and respect the fact that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly, and that peaceful assembly also refers to peaceful protests. It has become evident that a relatively small portion of people who take part in peaceful assemblies and protests employ a tactic of concealing their identity by wearing disguises, masks, or other facial coverings for the purpose of committing unlawful acts. Part of this tactic is to blend in with the larger group of peaceful protestors or assemblers, commit unlawful acts, and then remove their disguises, masks, or facial coverings, thus endangering the peaceful protestors. This occurred in Vancouver during protests that took place on February 13 and 14 at the Heart Attack march regarding the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games, and during the June 15 Stanley Cup riot.
Democratic governments in the United Kingdom, France, and New York State have developed legislation that would either limit or prohibit the wearing of disguises, masks, or facial coverings during peaceful assemblies. The VPD supports amending the Criminal Code of Canada or developing alternative legislation to limit or prohibit the wearing of disguises, masks, or facial coverings whose purpose is to conceal the identity of a person intent on committing unlawful acts prior to, during, or immediately after a lawful assembly or protest.
Reasonable limits to any such amendment or new legislation need to be considered. It is not our intent to infringe upon protesters' charter rights regarding wearing facial coverings at a protest where it is reasonable that wearing the facial covering is an important symbol during the lawful protest. For example, we are not suggesting that medical professionals could not wear surgical coverings if they were to protest, or if during a political protest people wore masks that were caricatures of the leaders or governments they were protesting. Rather, we are focusing on those elements of protesters that fundamentally infiltrate the larger, peaceful protest, wear facial coverings, proceed to commit their unlawful acts, and then quickly remove them and use the larger, peaceful protesters as a form of human shield. This is the behaviour that we recommend be legislated against.
To summarize, a legislative amendment prohibiting the wearing of disguises, masks, or other facial coverings for the purpose of concealing identity would assist police in identifying members of protests who engage in unlawful behaviour. Other jurisdictions have similar legislation in place for precisely this purpose. An amendment to the Criminal Code will limit or prohibit the wearing of disguises, masks, or other facial coverings during lawful assemblies while enhancing the safety of police officers and the peaceful protesters.
Thank you.