Organizers of Saturday’s Freedom Rally in St. Thomas have indicated they will now gather at 11 a.m. at Memorial Arena and then march north along the Whistle Stop Trail – parallel to the London & Port Stanley Railway corridor – to Moore Street. They originally had planned to meet up at the CASO station which, is private property.
They are estimating 200 people will attend, far below the 2,000 at Saturday’s rally in Aylmer.
City officials met with the St. Thomas Police Service to develop an operational plan for Saturday. Rally organizers had been asked not to hold the event at this time due to COVID-19 restrictions. As of Tuesday, St. Thomas had no reported COVID-19 infections.
The Downtown Development Board will be meeting Wednesday to formulate a plan for businesses in the downtown core.
In a release from St. Thomas Police, Chief Chris Herridge indicates their response will balance the right to a peaceful rally as guaranteed by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with the need for compliance with public health orders.
He notes the role of police will be to ensure the safety of everyone present. Officers will be on the front line, keeping the peace and responding as required to criminal and provincial violations as they occur.
Herridge adds, police will be gathering information along the way as their investigation will not end when the protest ends. He stressed applicable charges will be laid with the proper evidence to support them.
He assures, “We will have adequate staff present on the day of the protest to manage the rally. We ask that citizens stay away from rally path. Please remain calm and take a common sense approach.”
Rally organizers have not indicated whether motorcades from Toronto and London will be enroute to St. Thomas on Saturday or whether speakers will be present, including Church of God Pastor Henry Hildebrandt.
Saturday’s rally will be the third in this area in less than a month.
