As residents of Parksville, Qualicum Beach and Bowser gathered to celebrate Canada Day on Sunday, police were out in force to deal with any trouble from people who had too much to drink.
However, said Oceanside RCMP Corporal Jesse Foreman, while they didn’t find themselves exactly twiddling their thumbs, they were also not over-burdened with people behaving poorly.
“There were a few people arrested for causing a disturbance for being drunk in public,” he said. “However, overall there were few problems.”
Foreman noted there were less incidents requiring police action during this year’s festivities than there were last year, but he couldn’t definitively pin down why that might be.
“I believe we had far less problems than last year,” he said. “I would guess the weather had something to do with it and also the fact that it was on a Sunday this year.”
Last year, he added, the celebration was held on a Saturday, resulting in some people starting their drinking early and continuing on throughout the day.