Police investigating after protesters harass families as children get their vaccines in North Bay
Abby Blaszczyk took her seven-year-old son to be vaccinated Sunday in North Bay, and the experience has left her and her young child upset, after they were harassed by anti-vaccination protestors.
“As we pulled in they just verbally assaulted us. I had a seven- and four-year-old in the car,” Blaszczyk said.
“They were swearing and just screaming at us. There (were) men with megaphones, and as I came out one man with a megaphone screamed that I had just injected my son with poison.”
In a news release Tuesday, the North Bay Police Service said they are investigating what went on at the clinic and said charges could be laid.
"Where criminal acts are found to have occurred, police will take appropriate enforcement action, including laying charges," police said.
"The North Bay Police Service respects the rights of individuals to peacefully protest, but will not tolerate any interference with people’s right to safety when accessing health care and attending a vaccination clinic."
Police said they will be providing an increased police presence at future clinics and, "if criminal behaviour takes place, we will not hesitate to take enforcement action."
Blaszczyk said the experience inside the vaccine centre at One Kids Place went smoothly and she said the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit ran an organized vaccination clinic.
Outside, it was a different story.
“They had signs that were just completely untrue, they said save the children and stuff like that,” she said. “They were screaming at every family that was walking through.”
The unpleasant scene continued as she and her child tried to go home.
“As we left through the actual parking lot and had to pass the group, they screamed and told my son that I was a murderer, they told me I was committing genocide, and then we drove away,” added Blaszczyk.
CTV News reached out to the health unit and the North Bay Police Service, but no one was made available.
North Bay Mayor Al McDonald said he would like to see legal action taken.
“I’ve written the chief and the chair of the police services board, and I did convey the concerns I was hearing from our citizens to them, said McDonald.
“I’m going to talk to our legal and our security to see what we can do to assist.”
“But, I think it’s really important, that these individuals if they are choosing to be vaccinated they shouldn’t be blocked and they shouldn’t be intimidated at all,” he added.
While the experience for the Blaszczyks was one they don’t want to re-live, she said she believes in the vaccine and will be taking her four-year-old daughter to get vaccinated in the New Year.
“I believe in the science of vaccines, and I was very proud to have him vaccinated,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.