Peel police issued a public safety alert Monday evening after they said some participants were wielding weapons at a demonstration near a Hindu temple in Brampton that saw violent clashes between protesters a day earlier.
Residents were warned to stay away from the demonstration on The Gore Road near Tyler Avenue. The area is close to the Hindu Sabha Mandir temple, one of the sites where violence erupted between groups of protesters on Sunday.
In the alert posted on X, police said weapons were observed within the crowds. Police said its public order unit was deployed in the area.
“This is now an unlawful assembly and we will be clearing the area,” police said, adding members of the public order unit advised people at the demonstration to disperse.
A CBC News photographer observed a protester kicking a car attempting to cross the intersection of the Gore Road and Don Minaker Drive after the driver honked at the crowd.
The crowd, some of them waving the Indian national flag, had blocked traffic after marching from the temple.
Toronto police confirmed in an email late Monday night that they were also at the demonstration to help Peel police.
The demonstration began just hours after police announced three men were charged following violence between groups of protesters at a series of demonstrations in Brampton and Mississauga a day earlier.
The first clash happened outside Hindu Sabha Mandir temple while Indian consular officials were visiting. More fighting broke out later outside the Malton gurdwara after dozens of people — some of them waving or draped in the Indian national flag — marched toward the Sikh place of worship.
Videos captured outside the Hindu temple showed demonstrators holding banners in support of Khalistan, a proposed independent Sikh homeland in northern India, clashing with Hindu worshippers.
Three men have been arrested after a series of violent demonstrations outside a Hindu temple and Sikh gurdwara in the Toronto area over the weekend. Similar clashes occurred in Surrey, B.C., and come during heightened tensions between Canada and India.
Speaking to CBC Radio’s Metro Morning, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said Monday’s demonstration included some participants trying to “incite violence and hatred.”
“But you know, what I’ve been saying is everyone needs to de-escalate. I know tensions are high right now, but the starting point is we don’t need to have protests at places of worship,” he said.
Brown said he was told by Peel police that demonstrators tried to make their way to a nearby Sikh gurdwara, but were redirected by police.
“There is the right to protest, but it doesn’t need to be in the vicinity of a place of worship. Everyone has the right to go to their place of worship to pray, free of harassment, intimidation and violence. And that basic right has been broken in the last few days, unfortunately,” he said, referencing the weekend’s violence in Peel Region and recent clashes outside a Hindu temple in Surrey, B.C.
Brown has previously said he intends to introduce a motion at city council exploring the possibility of prohibiting demonstrations outside places of worship.
“I worry that this is going to become compounded if we don’t clearly say that there is a line in the sand that cannot be crossed,” he told host David Common.
Brown noted the City of Vaughan has a similar ordinance in place, and it has not yet been challenged on constitutional grounds.
“My hope is we’re going to pass this bylaw. If someone wants to challenge it in the courts, they can. But I believe it is needed to protect a foundational value in our country, which is religious freedom,” he said.
The recent conflicts in Peel and B.C. come among rising diplomatic tensions between Canada and India over allegations of violence against Canadian Sikhs. Ottawa has accused India’s home minister of being behind several attacks on Sikh activists on Canadian soil. The Indian government denies the accusations.
Last month, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats over allegations they used their positions to collect information on Canadians in the pro-Khalistan independence movement and then passed the details on to criminal gangs who targeted the individuals directly.
India has long accused Canada of harbouring pro-Khalistan terrorists that New Delhi has asked Ottawa to extradite, though Canadian officials say those requests often lack adequate proof.