A protester who tried to disrupt a ceremony held Saturday to dedicate a trench built in memory of a Port Moody resident who died in WW I failed to stop the proceedings, which continued peacefully and respectfully, organizers say.
The event was attended by approximately 200 dignitaries and members of the community, including New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody NDP MP Fin Donnelly, and Port Moody-Coquitlam Liberal MLA Linda Reimer as well as several young cadets.
The handful of protestors who showed up just as the ceremony was about to begin carried signs that "gardens not trenches" and other anti-war messages and one began to yell at the crowd just as MP Donnelly began to speak, according to Robert Simons, president of the Port Moody Heritage Society.
However, Port Moody police quickly arrived on the scene and asked the protestors to stop disrupting the event. "They curtailed them and moved them to the side," Simon said, "They weren't removed from the property."
It appeared the protesters may have hoped to get a broader message out because they also called for a stop to oil pipeline construction, Simons added. "It could have been almost any topic for a demonstration. They seemed to be making any comment appropriate to make noise."
The following day a successful Easter egg hunt and there were no signs of protestors and Simons hopes there will be no future security issues on the site, which includes a shelter, machine-gun emplacements, a replica kitchen and other elements of life in a WW 1 trench that soldiers would have experienced.
"I'm hopeful that this is a singular event associated with the dedication," Simons said.
Museum curator Jim Millar said it was ironic that the protesters wanted a community garden on the site because a meditation garden has already been built for visitors to rest and reflect.
The trench was built in memory of August Wilberforce McKnight, a Port Moody engineer and scout master who enlisted with 6 Field Company, Canadian Engineers and was killed by an enemy sniper while supervising trench construction work.
To find out more about the trench exhibit and arrange for an educational tour, visit portmoodymuseum.org.
- with files from Sarah Payne
