Vancouver Island Speaks: Pushing Pride - Pre-Event Outdoor Protest

In October of 2023, Vancouver Island Speaks booked an event at the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan BC. At the last minute the CCCentre cancelled the event citing the BC Human Rights Code and suggested that the event was likely to violate the HRC.
The organizers of the event got in touch with The Democracy Fund who provided legal support and the event was re-booked by the CCCentre in Duncan.
The video you will see here is the pre-event protest against the event. The protest was organized by a Cowichan group that goes by the name of Revolve Cowichan. The protest was attended by what looked to be a hundred or so people.
I had some real audio issues with this one. I was using new streaming software and didn't find the controls for audio-gain-levels until later so everything is distorted and the volume levels vary greatly. I've decided to put this video up anyway for posterity because the behavior of the attendees of the protest is worth noting.
Interviews or conversations were really not possible. Nearly the whole time I was in the crowd either just filming or attempting to engage with some of the participants to get their views or understand why they were attending, I was followed by two or three particular individuals (if you watch you'll see) who made a point of getting between me and anyone I was attempting to interview and putting their signs in front of the camera as well as screaming non-stop.
I think a main part of the story of this day is the fact that Duncan, BC got to have the event. Sure the protestors came and made it challenging for attendees to get to the door without feeling somewhat intimidated (at least that's what I've heard from multiple people, some who did attend and some who chose not to because of this) but people did come and the event went well with no interruptions and the discourse between the panelists and attendees got to happen unlike last fall.
Its a challenging topic. I don't know why interviews were being blocked. It occurs to me that to find resolution and get over the polarization there will need to be dialogue however that wasn't being allowed. I also don't understand the use of the term "hate speech" in all the signage. I attended the indoor event and I don't think I heard anything that would qualify as hate speech. I know its not proper for a reporter to give opinions so I'll qualify what I've said here as being editorial commentary. I encourage you to do some research about the issue and come to your own conclusions.