Pro-pipeline protest convoy reaches Ottawa after rolling across country
Posted February 19, 2019 8:46 am.
Last Updated February 19, 2019 12:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA — A convoy of angry Albertans and other westerners rolled up to Parliament Hill today to protest federal energy and environmental policies.
Scores of people gathered in knee-deep snow on the Hill lawn in advance of morning speeches amid concerns the convoy has become a magnet for extremist, anti-immigrant elements.
The United We Roll convoy began in Red Deer, Alta., on Valentine’s Day and made its way east over four days with stops for rallies along the way.
The protesters want the Liberal government to scrap the carbon tax and two bills that overhaul environmental assessments of energy projects and ban oil tankers from the northern coast of British Columbia.
Small business owner Jerry Fetting, who flew in from Stony Plain, Alta., says he has been affected by the drop in oil prices in recent years.
The master of ceremonies, Ron Barr, repeatedly told the Hill crowd to leave the media alone, saying they’re trying to help tell the story.
Organizers have been calling for several changes, including the end of Bill C-48 and C-69, that is something that Green Party Leader Elizabeth May actually agrees with, but for a much different reason.
“That bill is so terrible and so badly worded, it could be the pro-pipeline act just as easily because of it full of discretion, it needs to be fixed.”
She says there has been a lot of political manipulation involved with this rally.
-With files from Kenny Mason
