Atlantic bikers group invites P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan to visit clubhouse

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — A local bikers group says recent statements by P.E.I. police and politicians about outlaw biker gangs are "fear mongering" and they are inviting P.E.I. Premier Wade MacLauchlan and others to come to a motorcycle clubhouse to see that for themselves.



The Atlantic Confederation of Clubs issued a statement Tuesday morning  saying the police and elected officials have vilified their membership.

“We encourage the premier to speak with the members of these clubs as they are constituents on his Island and all likelihood voted him in office,” reads the statement.

tg-21012017-bikers-5.jpg

A member of the London, Ont. chapter of the Hells Angels attended a gathering in Charlottetown in January 2017.

©BRIAN MCINNIS/TC MEDIA

“We would like to remind everyone that these people, who the police would vilify, are members of your community. They are born and raised on the Island. They have jobs and families here. They are your neighbours and friends.”

Advertisement

"We encourage the premier to speak with the members of these clubs as they are constituents on his Island and all likelihood voted him in office." Atlantic Confederation of Clubs



In January, MacLauchlan held a joint news conference with RCMP and Charlottetown police where they raised concerns about the growth of motorcycle gangs and clubs associated with the Hells Angels and Bacchus in communities across P.E.I., following the opening of a Hells Angels hangaround club in Charlottetown in December.

At that meeting, the P.E.I. government and Island police forces resolved to develop legislation banning gang colours in bars and regulating the sale of body armour. They also promised to keep financial support from motorcycle gangs involved in criminal activities.

“We would like to invite the premier, local members of Parliament and the media to visit any clubhouse of the premier’s choosing to see for themselves what a motorcycle club house consists of, and that the fear mongering put forth by the police is unjustified,” reads the bikers’ statement issued Tuesday.

It continues, “The ACC believes that if the premier would take a moment to talk to these people as individuals and not some faceless menace, as portrayed by the Police, he would see as we do, that they are nothing more than motorcycle enthusiasts that seek the same rights and freedoms afforded to all Canadian citizens.”