Overview
- VicPD, which announced the change Wednesday, will stop managing the street portion of the weekly marches starting April 4.
- Officers have spent over 10,000 hours at 126 consecutive demonstrations since fall 2023, and leaders say the current model is not sustainable.
- Police will begin notifying participants and nearby businesses on Saturday, March 28, after briefing city officials and Muslim and Jewish community leaders.
- The department urges protesters to avoid roadways due to what it calls serious and immediate safety risks, while stressing support for peaceful assembly.
- Global News reported organizers said they never asked for police presence and used their own marshals, as VicPD also noted rising overtime costs that neared $1.5 million from January to October 2024.