Saturday, February 05, 2022

ALBERTA

Protest continues at Coutts on 7th day as traffic flows slowly to U.S. border

Mayor Willett says protesters have made their point and

 need to leave his village soon

CBC News · 
Members of a protest impeding travel to the U.S. border moved in to block southbound traffic on Highway 4 early Friday afternoon. The protest near Coutts, Alta., has been going on since last Saturday. 0:40

Lanes to the U.S. border near Coutts, Alta., opened and closed intermittently Friday as an ongoing protest continued to affect traffic in the area.

Early Friday afternoon, protesters moved in to block southbound traffic on Highway 4 leading to the border. One protester at the blockade told CBC News that the latest move was a result of not enough progress being made on the group's goal to lift pandemic mandates.

RCMP previously confirmed the blockade on one side of the highway. For a while, traffic was being stopped at Milk River, Alta.

On Thursday, protesters had said they planned to vacate the border and move north to Edmonton, but that night they reversed the decision and stayed put.

The demonstration is tied to an ongoing protest over federal rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated truckers, which took effect Jan. 15.

The Alberta blockade is being held in solidarity with similar protests in Ottawa and other locations.

RIGHT WING DEMANDS

Protesters have been on-site near the village of Coutts since Jan. 29, protesting federal rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated truckers. 

Jim Willett, the mayor of Coutts, said he has met with truckers who have been there for almost a week.

He said he paid a visit Thursday — and again Friday — to a former saloon in the village where protest leaders have gathered.

He said he expected to find a room of angry people but instead found they were just waiting.

He said protesters have made their point and need to leave his village soon.

Premier's Facebook live

Speaking during a Facebook live broadcast held late Thursday, Premier Jason Kenney said he did not say that truckers assaulted RCMP officers during a news conference held earlier in the week. 

The premier added he had received a situation report from the Alberta Ministry of Justice and Solicitor General on Tuesday afternoon, produced by RCMP officers in the field, who testified to being swarmed by protest sympathizers. 

Those officers, the premier said, had threats made against them by protesters and had their barricades charged by vehicles. There was also an attempt to ram officers on the scene, which was narrowly avoided.

In addition, the same protesters collided with other motorists on the highway, with assault ensuing from that, Kenney said.

"I absolutely characterized what happened there, at that barricade, accurately," Kenney said. "All I can say is, shame on those responsible. You shouldn't blame me, or the RCMP, or anyone else, for the dangerous and unlawful conduct of these individuals."

Speaking during a Facebook live stream held Thursday night, Premier Jason Kenney said it was unacceptable for people to make threats, swarm or attempt to ram police vehicles as part of a protest. (Facebook)

During Tuesday's press conference, Kenney did refer to an instance of assault of an RCMP officer alongside the attempted ramming of a police vehicle and the collision with a civilian vehicle. 

"I have also received reports in the last hour of people allied with the protesters assaulting RCMP officers," he said at the time.

Meanwhile, Alberta NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir attacked the premier Friday and said he appears to be pandering to the protesters by saying he has a plan to ease restrictions to be announced next week.

"There was no action taken by this government … go to the court, get the injunction and let RCMP do their thing," Sabir said.

With files from Carolyn Dunn, Colleen Underwood and The Canadian Press


Mystery shrouds ‘backchannel’ discussions with MLAs over blockade in Alberta near US border

04/02/2022


Anti-mandate demonstrators gather as a truck convoy blocks the highway the busy US border crossing in Coutts, Alta., on Jan. 31, 2022.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

Inside the Smugglers Saloon, a roadside tavern around the bend from the US-Canada border, blocking Alberta’s Highway 4 thought they had a deal with provincial legislators representing rural areas.

The group, who were assembled on Wednesday afternoon, voted by a show of hands to move their campers, tractors, semis and other vehicles so traffic could flow in one lane in each direction. The group had been blocking north and southbound traffic at Coutts, a village of about 250 people, since last Saturday, shuttering an important Alberta border crossing.

“They said, if we open that lane of traffic, they will drop … the [vaccination passport system],” one of the protesters said in a video posted online from inside the bar. “If they do not meet our requests, that border is shut again immediately.”

The group’s lawyer Martin Rejman told The Globe and Mail that there were “backchannel” discussions with members of the legislature, but would not reveal who was involved.

The protesters scurried about in -20 weather to clear the way, with some leaving the protest entirely.

In Ottawa, site of the original protest, trucks remain parked across from Parliament Hill, without any hint the impasse may soon end.

There was, however, no deal in Alberta – at least not with anyone who had the power to authorize the province to drop its coronavirus restrictions to appease a group of disgruntled citizens protesting illegally. Once that was clear, a secondary protest, clogging but not blocking the highway, popped up at a police barricade 14 kilometers north of the original Coutts camp.

Jason Kenney says truckers’ Coutts border blockade violates traffic laws and must end

But a day after the phantom deal, Premier Jason Kenney accelerated the timeline for lifting Alberta’s COVID-19 protocols. Meanwhile, scores of United Conservative Party caucus members issued statements denouncing the pandemic policies.

In an unannounced Facebook Live broadcast on Thursday evening, Mr. Kenney said that, because of widespread vaccination rates and protection from prior COVID-19 infections, the rationale for Alberta’s restrictions exemption program (REP) – code for a vaccination passport system – is not as strong as it was when it was introduced in September.

“That is why, early next week, Alberta will announce a firm date to end the REP and do so in the very near future,” he said. “We will also lay out a simple, phased plan to remove almost all public-health restrictions later this month, as long as we see a trend of decreasing pressure on our hospitals.”


But no downward trend in hospital admissions has started. Alberta counted 1,584 people with COVID-19 in hospital when Mr. Kenny made his comments on Thursday. On Jan. 27 – as a convoy of truckers and motorists was converging on Ottawa, but before the protest emerged at Coutts – Alberta’s hospitals had 1,570 people with COVID-19.

“We are continuing to see upward movement in our inpatient beds, hospitalization pressure, from COVID-19, and we’re at, in fact, the highest point in the two years in terms of people in hospital with COVID,” Mr. Kenny said at the Jan. 27 media conference. “Now is not the right time to be relaxing measures when the hospitals are under so much pressure.”

If Alberta moved too quickly, Mr. Kenny warned, the situation could get worse.

“Let’s just keep our eye on the ball, have the backs of the people in our hospitals. Let’s not start removing measures that could trip us back into higher transmissions and hospitalizations when the hospitals are already under so much pressure,” he said. “That day … is coming. I’m pretty confident it will come before the end of March.”

A record 1,648 COVID-19 patients were in hospital as of Feb. 1, the day before demonstrators in Coutts dismantled their blockade.

However, the protest is not over.

Disaffected Albertans remain parked on the sides of the highway in Coutts. The allied protest at the police barricade to the north continues. That crowd is likely to swell with supporters over the weekend as protests spread across Southern Alberta.

Jarrad McCoy, a carpenter from the town of Milk River, was among those inside Smugglers Saloon when some in the group believed they had a deal with the government. He said he is protesting not because of his family’s circumstances, but to alleviate the suffering of others and to build a better future for his six kids.

“Every generation has a fight or a battle, or has to be courageous in some way. And I think this is a moment of courage and love for these guys,” Mr. McCoy said on Wednesday, noting that many of the participants are “men of faith.”

While his own contracting business has prospered through the pandemic, he said he’s seen provincial health restrictions hit the finances of neighbors and friends. “I’ve seen God provide for my family through all of this. But I’ve seen other people suffer. And it’s broken my heart.”

Mr. McCoy said the clearing of one lane in each direction so that the flow of cross-border traffic and trade could resume was a good thing.

“None of the guys here want to be affecting anyone’s livelihood either,” he said. “We don’t want anyone suffering.”

With a report from Kelly Cryderman

Paul Brandt issues statement

 on Coutts convoy

Feb 4, 2022 | 5:09 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB. — In the entertainment industry, the music, lyrics and voice of famous musicians can hold sway over a myriad of issues.

In Alberta, one of the most loved of musicians is Paul Brandt. He was born in Calgary, and attended Mount Royal College (University) where he studied nursing and worked as a pediatric nurse at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. In the fall of 2009, he was conferred the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, by the University of Lethbridge.

Brandt has won a raft of music awards, and loaned his support to various causes, from Samaritan’s Purse to World Vision. In May of 2020, the Alberta government introduced a newly appointed Human Trafficking Task Force, to find ways to prevent human trafficking and protect and empower survivors. The man chosen to chair the task force was Paul Brandt, who also voiced his opposition to a proposed coal mine on the eastern slopes of the rockies.

Late Friday afternoon, Brandt issued a statement on his Instagram account regarding the situation at the Coutts border crossing.

Paul Brandt statement from his Instagram account

Two days ago, those involved in the Coutts trucker convoy had posted photos of a helicopter which they indicated Brandt had used to fly provisions to the trucker group in Coutts.

LNN reached out to Brandt’s publicist for confirmation about the helicopter flight. However, we have not heard back.


'It feels great': Trucks heading to U.S. get through Alberta blockades





COUTTS, Alta. — Gurdeep Chumbur says he sympathizes with fellow truckers concerned about cross-border COVID-19 vaccine mandates who have taken drastic action to make their views known.

But he was relieved Thursday when a second illegal blockade on a highway leading to the main border crossing in southern Alberta opened to traffic and RCMP ushered through some trucks heading to the United States.

"It feels great, yeah, because I need to work. I've got bills to pay," said Chumbur, after getting the green light from police to proceed down Highway 4 to the crossing at Coutts, Alta.

"I understand, you guys are protesting, that's great. Just stick to a side and let us go for it."

Chumbur said he was stuck in Montana for four days last weekend and eventually rerouted to the Roosville crossing in British Columbia before heading back to Calgary for another load. He was next on his way to Utah.

"There's no hard feelings. I'm with them. I understand, but unfortunately, I can't stand and protest," Chumbur said.

Demonstrators started the main blockade at Coutts on Saturday in solidarity with similar events in Ottawa and countrywide to protest vaccine mandates and broader public health measures.

The impasse stranded travellers and cross-border truckers, compromised millions of dollars in trade and impeded access to basic goods and medical services for area residents

On Tuesday, some demonstrators left that main blockade after Mounties announced negotiations to end the standoff had failed and they were prepared to make arrests and tow vehicles. However, other vehicles, including tractors, breached a police barrier and joined the stoppage.

Protesters at the blockade agreed Wednesday to open a lane on each side of the highway.

Early Thursday, the RCMP warned there was a second blockade of protesters north of Coutts, closer to the town of Milk River, and asked the public to avoid the area.

Hundreds of vehicles, including trucks, tractors and cars, had blocked the road there in solidarity with the main blockade.

Later in the day, traffic was allowed through and many sounded horns as they headed down the highway.

Officers stopped and checked with truckers to make sure they were making deliveries across the border and with area residents trying to get home.

Vehicles then weaved slowly through a narrow phalanx lined by protesters parked along the highway.

RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters said the situation is anything but ideal.

"It's very slow moving and we have to be very cautious," he said.

"There has been conflicts flare up here. We've had people just trying to get through, who've had some confrontations with protesters.

"The fact that we're allowing traffic to flow through is a positive step in the right direction but it's still an unlawful protest."

More protesters arrived at the site during the day. Some tractors and SUVs parked in a ditch. Two people showed up on horses and there an impromptu stage was set up for singing and a prayer service.

Ryan Kenney said he drove down Wednesday to participate in the latest blockade.

"Slept here overnight and I'm planning to stay until I have to. I'll be here for days," he said.

"I'm here to support the protest against mandates. They need to negotiate with the truckers down at the border."

Sean Alexander of Calgary was also part of the protest.

"We've got truckers down here, you got farmers down here … you've got oil and gas workers down here," he said. "Eighty guys maybe slept on the highway last night.

"None of us are getting paid."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 3, 2022.

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

Premier Kenney holds Facebook Q-and-A to discuss police “assault” issue and lifting mandates

Feb 4, 2022 

EDMONTON, AB. — As vehicle convoys continue to impede traffic in Southern Alberta (the LNN newsroom was notified of four Thursday afternoon alone), the level of frustration from the public is beginning to grow.

LNN took a litany of calls from travellers who wanted to know why police were not putting a stop “to this nonsense”, which brought traffic to a crawl in various locations, as people were attempting to make it to appointments, to care for elderly relatives or pickup children from school.

The organizers of the convoys repeatedly decline to speak to LNN and other media. However, a rural school bus driver who would speak to us when we asked if he had been caught in any of the convoys, said he had been able to escape them but, he was shocked by the fact that parents were pulling their children out of school classes to take part in the convoys.

Complaints about the convoys, border blockade and COVID-19 mandates have not escaped the ears of Premier Jason Kenney. On Thursday evening, Kenney held an hour-long question-and-answer segment on his Facebook site and announced the government would be announcing, next week, the path laid out to lift public health measures.

Kenney noted that governments should not be swayed by protesters.

“No responsible government makes policy by negotiating with people engaged in such unlawful conduct. Period. Full stop. We fully expect our law enforcement agencies to restore and maintain public safety and law and order.”

After a meeting with his COVID-19 cabinet committee next week, Kenney said there is a plan to end Alberta’s vaccine passport program. A few days ago, Kenney said he hoped the passport could be eliminated by the end of March and he hopes most other public health measures can be ended by the end of this month, if the pressure on the health-care system adequately declines.

The Premier understands the frustrations of those protesting health restrictions but, pleads with them to find legal ways of protesting.


“While I sympathize with and agree with many of the messages being sent by convoy protests over the past week, let me just underscore that a society built on the rule of law cannot accept protests that block critical infrastructure, that disrupts communities and countless law-abiding citizens.”

“I hear you loud and clear. You are right to point to the damaging impact of restrictions.”

Kenney said part of the reason he feels restrictions can be lifted is because so many Albertans have gained some immunity from COVID-19, both from getting vaccinated and from being infected with the virus.

In regard to inaccurate information about police officers being assaulted at the Coutts blockade, Kenney claimed to not have used the word assault and read a situation report he received from the Alberta Department of Justice and the Solicitor General on Tuesday (Feb 1) afternoon.

“A group of motorists (protest sympathizers) attempting to travel south to Coutts became increasingly hostile and made threats against the RCMP members at the checkpoint, to the point where they surrounded (police) members. A team of Alberta Sheriffs and RCMP members manning a checkpoint on highway-4 and highway-501 were surrounded by protesters in commercial and private vehicles. Protesters breached the barricades and attempted to ram officers at the scene. No staff were injured but narrowly escaped injury as the protesters collided with other motorists on the highway. Assaults between protestors and motorists ensued requiring (police) intervention.”

Kenney noted the incident report was filed by RCMP members on the scene, who testified they were swarmed, threatened and had their barricades rammed by vehicles which also attempted to ram the officers who narrowly escaped injury.

While the officers were not injured in the incident, it should be noted that in Canadian law, assault is defined as intentionally putting another person in apprehension of imminent harm or offensive contact. Physical injury is not required. The fact that the protesters swarmed the officers, the barricades were rammed and attempts to ram the officers is defined as assault.

The Premier stated that he, the RCMP or anyone else, “should not be blamed for the dangerous and unlawful conduct of these individuals – it is totally, totally unacceptable for people to make threats against the police, swarm the police, attempt to ram officers with their vehicles, causing them to narrowly escape injury and then to ultimately cause a collision with law abiding motorists and engage in the assault of those law abiding civilians.”

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