Anti-vaccine protest featuring effigies of B.C. politicians slammed as 'disturbing,' 'offensive'

Victoria -

A protest at the B.C. legislature featuring hanging effigies of provincial politicians went too far, according to critics concerned about escalating behaviour from those opposed to COVID-19 vaccines and public health measures.

At a sunset rally last Thursday, effigies with the faces of Premier John Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix, and Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth hanged prominently behind the stage.

Asked about the protest by CFAX 1070 host Al Ferraby, Farnworth pointed out the number of people opposed to COVID-19 restrictions is relatively small compared to those who have embraced vaccination and other safety measures.

"It's incredibly disturbing when you see that," the minister said. "But it's pathetic, too."

The protesters evoked the Nuremburg trials, where doctors were convicted of mass murder and human experimentation during the Holocaust.

The CEO of the Jewish Federation said comparing COVID-19 public health measures to the atrocities of the Second World War is "offensive."

"It's just a plain lie," Ezra Shanken told CTV News. "You cannot keep saying this and hope the more you say it the more it becomes true – it's not true."

Shanken said not only does the comparison re-inflict trauma on those whose families perished in the Holocaust, it also hinders efforts to educate the public about the horrific past.

Heidi Tworek, an assistant professor at UBC with a specialization in public policy and history, said it's important not to assume everyone who is unvaccinated supports these kinds of demonstration. She noted there are many reasons people haven't had their shots.

Still, Tworek said, the behaviour demonstrated at last week's event is alarming.

"The fact that it's a very small number of people doesn't mean we shouldn't take this seriously, because the level of escalation is becoming quite concerning," she added. "At the point that we get to effigies, I think we are at a level of personal threat that takes us to another zone."

Victoria police said they're aware of the protest and are "gathering information about the nature and circumstances of what occurred."

Anti-vaxxers have previously blocked access to hospitals and interrupted a Remembrance Day gathering. They're also one of the reasons Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau is looking for a new space for her constituency office.

"Over the past couple of months there have been some troubling incidents for the staff, people coming in who are more aggressive than usual," she said in an interview with CTV News.

Last week, with a protest against health restrictions planned outside her office, Furstenau said she sent staff home. The Greens share a space with others, and she said when protesters realized her staff weren't around, they approached others in the space – something she said she couldn't stand for.

Furstenau realizes there are more stresses with people struggling to find housing and accessing mental health supports. Still, she said, the effigies were a step too far.

"There's no way anyone should think of that as acceptable demonstration."