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UPDATE: 5:20 p.m.
The organizer of a weekend “freedom rally” says he is fine with decisions by the Kamloops Food Bank and Tumbleweed Toys to distance themselves from the event.
“I accept it,” Glenn Aalderink told Castanet Kamloops.
“I do understand that my stance is not a popular one.”
Aalderink said his group, Freedom Kamloops, has been holding rallies each weekend for a number of weeks.
Flyers promoting this weekend’s event gained traction on social media and prompted both the Kamloops Food Bank and Tumbleweed Toys to speak up and say they were not affiliated with the rally.
The flyer asked attendees to bring a donation for the food bank and mentioned Tumbleweed Toys by name as a place near which to gather.
“If we want our freedoms and rights accepted, we have to accept everyone else’s,” Aalderink said.
“We’re not anti-mask or anti-COVID, we’re pro- freedom and rights.”
ORIGINAL STORY: 10:04 a.m.
The Kamloops Food Bank is distancing itself from a so-called “freedom rally” slated to take place this weekend.
In an online flyer making the rounds on social media, organizers of the Saturday event ask attendees to bring a donation for the food bank.
On Friday, the Kamloops Food Bank took to Twitter to say it has nothing to do with the anti-mask rally.
“We are not affiliated with this group and do not endorse their message,” the food bank said in a tweet.
“The Kamloops Food Bank is dedicated to safety and follows all health officials’ and government directives at all times.”
The owner of a Sahali toy store has also distanced her business from the rally. The online flyers mention Tumbleweed Toys by name as a gathering spot for protestors.
“We don’t want to have anything to do with this,” store owner Vanessa Gammel told Castanet Kamloops.
“To reiterate, we have been, through this entire pandemic, very vocal about our policies and keeping people safe in the store. So we don’t want to be associated with that at all.”
The rally is expected to get underway in Riverside Park at noon on Saturday, followed by a “rally” near the intersection of Summit Drive and Columbia Street at 1 p.m.
Kamloops Mounties have said they are aware of the planned event and will keep an eye on it.
