Many motorists honked in support on Saturday as they drove past a few dozen Canada Yellow Vest protesters lined up along Highway 27 near the Town of Sundre’s municipal office.
The group of about 40 people were out for a couple of hours on Saturday, Dec. 15, most of them donning yellow vests.
Kerri Harkness, who lives west of Sundre, was among them, and said the carbon tax was her primary motivation for participating and that she was glad to see the turnout as well as the passing motorists who honked in support.
“Albertans, Canadians, we cannot afford to pay more and more taxes right now,” Harkness said when asked what she would, given the chance, tell Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“We need our pipeline ran, we need to get our economy back going so that Alberta is self-sufficient — too many people are out of jobs,” she said.
Adding insult to injury, Canada is disproportionately dependent on oil from Saudi Arabia, she said.
Tamara Burton, who with Brenda Day organized the demonstration in Sundre, said although the protests are in large part inspired by France’s Gilets Jaunes — or Yellow Vests — Canadians have their own issues.
However, there is a shared commonality regarding concerns about over-taxation and feeling ignored by federal elected officials, said Burton.
“A lot of people in the Yellow Vest movement, they really just want their voices heard by the government,” she said.
Having relocated to Sundre more than two years ago with her common-law partner and their three-year-old daughter, Burton said the family loves its new home.
“We’re here to stay.”
When asked why she decided to get involved in organizing a rally in Sundre in front of the municipal office, which is closed on weekends, Burton said she wanted to stand in solidarity with similar demonstrations that were planned throughout the province.
“There’s 10 separate rallies planned,” she said, adding there were recently marches in Calgary and Edmonton, which were attended by hundreds.
Canada’s Yellow Vest movement is mainly opposed to over-taxation, which includes the carbon tax, as well as concerns about Canadian sovereignty regarding the non-legally binding UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, she said.
Acknowledging that the UN pact is non-legally binding and that the document also recognizes the sovereignty of each individual nation to address migration in its own way, Day nevertheless expressed concerns that Canada’s ability to govern itself on the issue could be compromised.
“I don’t think the pact will stick to the nice fuzzy face,” she said.
But both organizers seemed to agree that the international community needs to work together to address the growing humanitarian crisis that has resulted in numbers of immigrants and refugees relocating not seen since the Second World War.
“We have incredible immigration laws and positions here in Canada, and we’ve welcomed a huge number of immigrants, including my family and generations ahead of me, and most of us come from an immigration beginning in Canada,” with the exception of First Nations, said Day.
“It’s not that we’re against people with a valid reason for needing to come to Canada,” said Burton, adding the movement is more concerned about the potential for criminal elements to slip through the bureaucratic cracks.
The goal of the protest was to assemble a gathering of people interested in peacefully voicing their concerns, she said.
The violence and chaos that spread into streets throughout France is essentially the inevitable result of what happens when that many people feel threatened and powerless, said Day.
“That’s going to come out in their passion,” she said.
However, both of the organizers said Canada Yellow Vests take a strong stance against violence from far left or far right groups.
“Canada Yellow Vests are completely standing away from those groups like that — we want nothing to do with them,” said Day.
Summarizing in a nutshell what her message to the Trudeau government would be, Burton said there should be referendums on major decisions that impact every Canadian.
“Let us vote. Let’s stop fighting on all of the issues….let us vote on issues that affect Canadian people,” she said.
Burton added she does not “think it matters who’s in office,” which is why she prefers putting big policy changes to a referendum.
“Then everyone can vote — everyone on every side of every issue can vote,” she said.
“It’s called a democracy, right?” Day added.
The protesters plan to continue rallying weekly every Saturday until their message translates into government action, she said.
As of Saturday, the Yellow Vests Canada social media page, which was set up earlier this month, had reached more than 55,000 members.
