An Olds resident who helped organize an oil and gas support convoy late last month rode briefly in the convoy that headed out for Ottawa from Red Deer on Thursday, Feb. 14.
Paul Hoffman of Parkland Pipeline Contractors drove in the convoy from Red Deer to Olds.
He had planned to drive further, but changed his mind.
"I went and joined the boys in Red Deer this morning. Then I came to Olds and I turned off and went into the office," he said during an interview with the Albertan. "I had a bunch of stuff come up and I had to take care of that. So I thought, 'well, I'll just turn off here.'"
Hoffman was pleased with what he saw of the convoy. Estimates of the number of vehicles involved ranged from 100 to 160 or more.
"I thought it was great. I thought it was going good down the highway there. When they pulled onto the highway there was a lot of people waiting. They all merged on really good," Hoffman said.
"There were people there from B.C., there were people who came down from Peace River. There were folks in from all over the place getting ready to go.
"It was pretty packed there. It was a cold day, but they were a determined bunch. I was proud to be an Albertan -- and a Canadian," he added.
The United We Roll convoy is protesting the lack of pipeline capacity; the federal carbon tax; Bill C-69, a proposed federal law that would change the way energy projects are reviewed; Bill C-48, which would prohibit tankers carrying crude oil from loading or unloading at ports in northern British Columbia; and other issues.
