EDITOR,
I'm not sure how many times a gathering needs to take place before it becomes a tradition. But for the second time (that I know of) Squamish truckers took to the wheel in a funeral procession on Monday (March 7) to pay their respects to a fellow worker who lost his life to cancer.
The route was preplanned, and all intersections had certified volunteer flaggers ready to keep the truckers together as they made their way to their final destination.
The event was going well until the local RCMP came and broke up the procession. Now, I don't know under what conditions the RCMP came out to halt the event. Either they did it out of their own concern or a person being affected called in the police. It isn't important. What matters is that a time of mourning was disturbed because traffic had to wait a few minutes.
The whole point of a procession is to announce to the community the death and for them to stop and pay their respects. Interfering with it because you're late for work defeats the whole purpose.
Brett Ellis
Squamish
Editor's note: The Chief contacted RCMP Staff Sgt. Guy Pollock for comment on the above letter. Below is his response:
"First of all, I appreciate the sensitivity and importance of these types of events to family and friends. Our hearts always go out to those who have suffered ANY loss. These situations can be very sensitive, emotional; however, highway, public safety, public expectations and flow of traffic must always be borne in mind, weighed out. In this case, there was no Ministry of Transportation permit or agreement for this funeral procession (from my knowledge, generally permits are not usually or routinely issued for a funeral processions, as this Ministry would require any if not all traffic to utilize the municipal road network). Applications for permits can be made through the Ministry website at www.th.gov.bc.ca. The Ministry would review the application, complete with a Traffic Management Plan (TMP) to ensure traffic is controlled and if required, RCMP or certified flag persons placed at signalized intersections for traffic control. I am advised that IF an application was made, a permit COULD be issued for a funeral procession; however, it is most likely the procession would be directed to a route away from the provincial highway system. Ironically, the police are called almost immediately when people or business freight are slowed or inconvenienced for any reason - [Monday] was no exception. In [Monday's] case, anyone in the area between Finch/Industrial and Mamquam Roads observed a long, orderly, slow moving procession of highly visible large trucks. Flag persons were stopping traffic on the main provincial highway (99) to keep these trucks together (trucks that would have easily caught up after traffic light interruptions). There was no real need to stop or control traffic (no work underway on the highway, no collision, no threat to drivers, no single-lane traffic, no intermittent intervals, etc.). Although important to all of those directly involved, the public interest, the majority, the traffic flow, etc., made stopping traffic on Highway 99 for a funeral procession for this length of time disruptive. There was a simple police dialogue-based intervention to get traffic flowing [and] cease the non-permitted flagging. No charge(s) or further action was undertaken by or planned by police. Again, I know this is a sensitive situation, a balance was realized. I trust people to appreciate both sides and thank all involved and delayed for their understanding of each other's situation."
