Three people were escorted by police from the Meadow Park Sports Centre (MPSC) this week for refusing to show proof of vaccine, according to the Whistler RCMP.
In the first instance, on Oct. 3, two individuals had entered the MPSC’s ice rink without a mask, and when approached by a staff member, refused to show proof of vaccine and subsequently refused to leave the arena.
Police were then called in to escort the pair.
On what Sea to Sky Officer-in-Charge Insp. Robert Dykstra believed to be the following day, but was unable to confirm by press time, a man had entered the Meadow Park pool without showing proof of vaccination, and also refused to leave when approached by a staff member. Police attended and escorted the man from the facility.
“The staff aren’t trained to deal with somebody who refuses, so they are obviously there to try and encourage and share information and say this is why they need to show their vaccination, and if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not entitled to come in. But these people came in and did their own thing,” Dykstra said. “So our job is to enter and do it from a public safety perspective and make sure that nothing happens, and in cases, we will issue tickets as well. Our first job is to educate but if we have to, we will issue tickets as well.”
Dykstra said there has been some confusion around the public health orders, as proof of vaccination is not required in standalone swimming pools or ice rinks (not including events or adult sports hosted in these venues), but given the shared common areas at the MPSC, he said the requirements still apply.
“One of the challenges people don’t recognize about the community centre is that it’s a shared entrance, shared bathrooms, shared locker rooms; there is nothing that isn’t shared once you get into that building,” he noted. “So from that perspective, one could see, if there is a requirement to show proof of vaccination, why that might be a concern. Obviously this is something that the RMOW and the community centre have to work out from their public and policies perspective."
