Prepping for protesters
 
How to get ready to deal with crowds, friendly or otherwise
 
By Fiona Anderson, Vancouver SunFebruary 3, 2010
D1 
 
 
Protesters do their best to disrupt an Olympic-related event at
Vancouver city hall in 2007.
Photograph by: Ward Perrin, Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Sun
 
Olympic protesters have already started gathering to voice their
disdain for the coming 2010 Olympic Games, and their gatherings are
likely to get bigger, louder and more disruptive.
 
But it's not just those who oppose Vancouver and Whistler hosting
the Olympics who could clog streets and storefronts. So, too, could
a number of groups who want to capitalize on the presence of
international media to spread their message -- whether that message
is to protect human rights around the world, to protest against
Canada's seal hunt, or a myriad of other issues completely unrelated
to the Games.
 
Businesses that could find themselves in the line of fire, or even
just within range, should plan ahead to minimize the negative
effects protests could have on their operations, says Earl Phillips,
a Vancouverbased partner at McCarthy Tetrault LLP.
 
People have a right to protest, Phillips said in an interview. "But
it has to be peaceful, and it has to be lawful."
 
Lawful means that protesters can't do things like trespass,
intimidate, or assault anyone. Nor can they prevent customers or
employees from entering a place of business.
 
"So people need to understand the rights of peaceful and lawful
protest, and the limits of that," Phillips said.
 
Business owners should also understand that over-reacting is likely
to make things worse, not better.
 
Protesters want attention, especially media attention, and the more
the better, Phillips said. And overreacting could bring in the
attention the group is looking for, and turn "what probably would
have been a 15-minute noisy presence in their store [into] a
two-hour sit-in," he said.
 
Even if protesters do go beyond the limits of the law by, for
example, trespassing, businesses may want to stand back and let them
get their 15 minutes of media coverage, he said.
 
Talk to the protesters, ask them perhaps to move to one side of the
entrance. But whatever you do, ask politely.
 
"To go out and say, 'Get the hell off our property. We're calling
the cops' -- that's not going to get you anywhere," Phillips said.
 
If it's well handled, "the pain of [being targeted by a protest]
could well be short-lived," he said.
 
To know how to handle the situation takes planning. So businesses
that aren't used to being involved in protests, but may be in a
neighbourhood where such events could occur during the Games, should
plan ahead, Phillips said.
 
Designate someone as a liaison with the protesters, train front-line
staff on how to react --and not over-react -- and contact the local
police department to determine who to call if the need arises.
 
And the need arises when someone's safety -- whether it's a
protester, a bystander, a customer, or an employee -- is at risk, he
said.
 
"Usually, if you go to all that effort and do some preparation, you
won't face any problems," Phillips said. "But you feel better for
it, and if you did face a problem you're in that much better shape
to deal with it effectively."
 
London Drugs has two stores in the downtown core that could expect
crowds -- one on the Granville Street pedestrian mall with its walk
of lanterns and public art, and another in the new Woodward's
complex. The Richmond-based chain has been working on its Olympics
plan for several months, hiring extra security and educating staff
on what to do if there are problems, said Tony Hunt, the company's
general manager of loss prevention.
 
"We've heard the police say there may be protests and people are
going to voice their opinions, and we believe they should be able to
do that," Hunt said. "We just want to make sure we're prepared to
ensure our customers can still use our stores."
 
If crowds do form, the store has staff whose job will be to control
the crowd, using stanchions if necessary to direct people in and out
of the store.
 
What they won't be doing, though, is "demanding people leave public
property just because they are voicing their concerns about an
event," Hunt said.
 
"The key is to be prepared with some options, talk about them in
advance because you don't want to accidentally create an unsafe
condition," he said. "[Because] when you have a group of people who
may be passionate about what they're protesting about, or just a
really large group of people, tensions can run a little high ...
[and] you could actually exacerbate the situation."
 
fionaanderson@vancouversun.com

Fiona Anderson, Vancouver Sun