Organizers of an anti-racism rally in Vancouver are preparing against right-wing activists who may disrupt the event.

“We will take all precautions,” Imtiaz Popat, cofounder of the Coalition Against Bigotry – Pacific, told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview.

Popat’s group is spearheading the demonstration Saturday (March 24).

The event starts at 1 p.m. at Thornton Park near the Main Street-Science World Station of SkyTrain. From there, participants will march through Downtown Eastside and Chinatown, and head back to the park.

Last year’s anti-racism demonstration was disrupted by members of the anti-immigrant group Soldiers of Odin.

A member of the Soldiers of Odin reportedly set off a smoke bomb that discharged purple smoke. A fight also reportedly broke out.

A number of men identifying themselves as Soldiers of Odin members were handcuffed and briefly detained by the Vancouver police.

Sergeant Jason Robillard, spokesperson of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), said that the police keep watch over hundreds of public events every year.

“That’s what we’re going to be doing on the weekend as well,” Robillard told the Straight by phone Thursday (March 22) about the Saturday demonstration.

Robillard said that “there’s always the potential for something to arise” in rallies.

“We are aware of it,” Robillard said about the weekend rally, “and we do have a section here, a specialized section that monitors and has intelligence gathering of these types of events.”

The VPD spokesperson said that while the police do not release operational plans, they are ready to “adjust” their response to any eventuality.

“We make preparations to police these types of events,” Robillard said.