World Police and Fire Games opens with parade, protest

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This article was published 28/07/2023 (823 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Billed as the largest sporting event to be held in Manitoba, the 2023 World Police and Fire Games appeared to live up to its claim Friday evening, as thousands of firefighters, paramedics and law enforcement officers converged on Winnipeg’s downtown.

The opening ceremony included a march, during which competitors from all over the world formed a parade that stretched from the RBC Convention Centre to Canada Life Centre — and continued unbroken for more than a half-hour.

“It’s like meeting with colleagues from all over the world,” said Bas Bastiaans, a Dutch policeman who travelled to compete in volleyball.

“Our work can be very hard, very stressful, and when you’re here… you can leave all the bad things behind you. That’s the good part of the games.”

Through Aug. 6, Winnipeg will play host to 8,500 active and retired first responders, as they compete in more than 60 Olympic-style events.

The games has an operating budget of approximately $17 million, and organizers anticipate it may generate an estimated $85-million impact to Winnipeg’s economy.

This year marks the second time Bastiaans has attended the games, having participated in 2022 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He waved a large, Dutch flag in broad figure-eights above his head as he and his teammates led the parade up Carleton Street.

Behind them, participants from Mexico, India, China and Germany followed. The crowd of various, cultural, ethnic and professional backgrounds jostled together, smiling and interacting.

Participants from Brazil and Mexico were particularly raucous, drumming and singing their respective national anthems.

A unified chant of “USA, USA” from American visitors elicited a resounding response from those representing the United Arab Emirates, who answered with: “UAE, UAE.”

The Canadians, who formed the largest contingent of athletes, were met with applause from people who lined the streets to watch.

“It’s pretty cool to see this amount of people from every country here in Winnipeg. I think it’s going to be good for the city,” said Jaden Friesen, a firefighter with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service who is competing in basketball.

“This is what represents our city,” added teammate Sehaj Jawanda.

However, not all greeted the opening of the games with fanfare.

A group of roughly 80 protesters voiced their anger, shouting insults at police and demanding local officials search nearby landfills for the remains of Indigenous women believed to be buried there.

“We oppose the World Police and Fire Games,” said James Wilt, an organizer with Winnipeg Police Cause Harm.

“We are just here to reiterate the demand that has been made for several years: to stop putting more and more public money into police and actually reallocate it to things that can make our city more safe.”

Wilt called the games “essentially a private party” for law enforcement, funded by public funds.

The event has received $2 million in federal funding, $4.9 million from the province of Manitoba, and $1.5 million from the City of Winnipeg.

“We all have different beliefs,” Jawanda said of the protesters. “Everybody is invited, regardless of what their values and thoughts are.”

The games will continue until Aug. 6. Nearly all events are free and open to spectators.

Tyler Searle
Reporter

Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press’s city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic’s creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.

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