More than 100 people gathered at Jack Poole Plaza this weekend to show their support for health care workers.
The rally - dubbed a "Gratitude gathering" - was held to show opposition to the anti-public health COVID-19 mandate protests says organizer Michelle Fortin.
"We just wanted to find a balance between what's been happening with the anti-mandate folks and the amount of space they've been taking up," Fortin tells Vancouver Is Awesome. "Considering that they're a minority, they seem to have taken a lot of air out of out of this space."
The rally, held Monday evening (Feb. 21), was connected to the counter-protests that blocked the 'freedom' convoy in Vancouver on Feb. 5.
Those gathered heard a variety of speakers, including Sister Diversity Rains of the Vancouver Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Diana Day of the Pacific Association of First Nations Women. Many carried signs that voiced support for health care workers, while others had slogans decrying the actions of those associated with the anti-mandate activists.
"You know, I think it is for people to recognize that we can celebrate again, we can gather," says Fortin. "We have a greater voice, and I think a more resilient voice, than the folks that don't believe in mandates that are keeping us healthy."
