Toronto police close Queen's Park Circle in response to possible convoy protest

Toronto police have closed a roadway near Queen's Park on Wednesday because of social media posts announcing possible demonstrations by large vehicles in the city.

The closurecomes a few days after a large protest against public health measures meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 took place in the downtown core.

Queen's Park Circlefrom College Street to Bloor Street was stillclosed as ofWednesday night as of10 p.m., according to Const. David Hopkinson, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service. Foot traffic is allowed.

Insp. Michael Williamstold reporters on Wednesday afternoon that police developed a plan over the last several days that makespublic safety a priority and limits disruptions to the city.

"Part of that planning includes our ability to scale our operations up or down as needed," he said.

"Out of an abundance of caution, the service made the operational decision this morning to secure the area surroundingQueen's Park and close Queen's Park Circle," he added.

Police will maintain a highly visible uniformed presence in the downtown core and will implement additional closures if necessary, he said. Police are committed to securing major intersections andinfrastructure, including Hospital Row, in Toronto, he said.

WATCH | Drone footage of last Saturday'sprotestin Toronto:

What Saturday's vaccine mandate protest looked like from above

3 years ago

Duration 1:15

A major intersection in downtown Toronto was blocked by trucks as part of a demonstration on Saturday against COVID-19 measures and vaccine mandates, but nearly all the vehicles had left the area by 8 p.m. ET. Protesters mainly gathered at Queens Park and the intersection of Avenue Road and Bloor Street West. The area known as Hospital Row on University Avenue remained blocked off by police who said their priority is to ensure emergency vehicles have access to hospitals. Several protests also took place at malls across the GTA Saturday.

"We don't want to see people shaking police cars, and inching big trucks up towards our members. We're certainly not looking for any type of confrontation, but we certainly do have plans in place if there is criminality."

He said police services across Ontario are sharing information on what they have been seeing in terms of protests.

On Twitter, police addedin a post: "Keeping emergency routes clear and protecting key infrastructure is a priority for officers ...Please avoid the area unless absolutely necessary."

When asked exactly when protesters are expected to arrive, if any, Toronto police spokesperson Const. Laura Brabant said in an email to CBC News that police are "continuously monitoring security issues not just in Toronto but around the country.

"In response, we make the appropriate adjustments to our plans in order to mitigate the potential risks to public safety," she said. "Given recent events, we have an operational plan in place that will be scaled up or down as needed. Our priority has and will always be protecting public safety and maintaining a secure area around key intersections and infrastructure, such as hospital row."

Large crowds gathered at Queen's Park last Saturday, and the protest continued at the intersection of Bloor Avenue West and Avenue Road, where trucks blocked the intersection starting around 1 p.m. The vehicles were cleared out by 8 p.m.

Police said they made two arrests in connection with Saturday'sdemonstration.

At a news conference on Wednesday morning, Health Minister Christine Elliott said the province is watching protests throughout Ontario "very carefully.

"As long as it's peaceful protest that's fine, but it can't be destructive, and it also can't block hospitals," she said.

Toronto Mayor John Tory echoed that sentiment at another news conference, saying citizens do have the right to peaceful protest, but not to infringe on other people's rights.

"We seem to be drifting into a world where everybody's concerned about their rights, and they don't think about everyone else's rights and about the collective rights that we have," Tory said.

"And I think we've got to get back to worrying about each other ...a hallmark of being a Canadian and being a Torontonian is you worry about everybody else too, not just yourself."