MAYOR Sam Katz vowed yesterday Critical Mass bicycle protesters will be prosecuted if they block another city ambulance rushing to hospital.

"It's a good thing I wasn't on that ambulance or one of my loved ones was," Katz said. "I would have cleared a path."

Katz said he was livid after reading a Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service report of the incident last Friday. "This was so wrong," Katz said the of cyclists' actions. "I was irate. I was shocked. I was disappointed.

"I would like to think that in a matter of life and death people would abide by the rules of the road and do the right thing."

The city ambulance was rushing a critically ill patient to hospital and was delayed up to two minutes getting to St. Boniface General Hospital because of the protesters.

A fire department official said the ambulance had gone over the Provencher Bridge and turned south on Tache Avenue towards the hospital when it came up behind a pack of about 150 riders.

Police allege some cyclists intentionally blocked the ambulance and had to be moved out of the way.

Critical Mass riders yesterday disputed that claim, but Katz said the paramedic's report speaks for itself.

He also said the incident undermines the credibility and integrity of Critical Mass members.

"I can assure you if there's another life of death situation everything will be enforced," he said.

Police spokesperson Const. Jacqueline Chaput said motorists or cyclists caught blocking an emergency vehicle can be charged under the provincial Highway Traffic Act.

Critical Mass demonstrations are typically organized at the last minute with riders not telling police of their route.

Friday's rally was just half the size of one held May 26 in which scuffles broke out between police and cyclists. Police say they intervened when cyclists refused to listen to demands to follow the rules of the road, like stopping at red lights.

Several Critical Mass riders have filed complaints of police excessive use of force with the province's Law Enforcement Review Agency.