As Canadian flags flapped in the stiff breeze, dozens of protesters assembled at the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border on Apr. 1, the day the federal carbon tax was set to jump by 23%, to denounce its imposition. There were cars, trucks and even farm equipment adorned with signs, part of a nation-wide effort to convince the Trudeau government to Axe The Tax. Ironically, a pay increase for the Prime Minister and Members of Parliament was also slated to take effect the same day.
“Actually, it (the national protest movement) started on the east coast,” said Tanner Milligan of Arcola, Sask., who is co-coordinating the Manitoba-Saskatchewan leg of the national protest with Dallon Leger of Yorkton. These gentlemen thought “Canada’s struggling. We need to get a voice out again. We need to figure out a way to unify everyone again so we can have our voices heard. The carbon tax affects everybody across-the-board. It doesn’t matter who you vote for, race, religion or anything like that. We all get the same bills at the end of the day."
Milligan said he willingly took a lead role in helping to rally people together to fight the implementation of the tax and its effect on the cost of living and running a business.
“I got the message spread to me a little bit and I jumped on it,” he said. “We go to Parliament and things get thrown out on us. This is not a tour to go to Ottawa. Every local person can have their voice heard by coming to these assemblies and protests. It started out with a group of six or seven. It’s now moved to a group of 21 that are organizing and leading this.”
Milligan noted that word has spread significantly via the group’s social media, with 170,000 followers on Facebook since the page went live on Mar. 5. He’s thrilled with the turnout on the ground as well.
“We can tell it’s getting a lot of traction,” he said. “The people are coming together. The local support is phenomenal. The people have had enough of this carbon tax and it is time we put money back in the pockets of the Canadian people.”
The ‘rest’ area at the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border, once home to the Tourism Saskatchewan visitor information centre, is serving as a command post, with organizers planning to staff the site from 8a.m. to 8p.m. daily. Contingency plans, including amenities such as porta-potties, a warm-up shelter and a bonfire, with food available for participants, were being put in place.
The convoy of about 100 vehicles lined up en masse on the north side of the Trans-Canada Highway, remaining stationary on the westbound shoulder while occupants waved signs and banners at passing motorists, many of whom honked their horns and gave a friendly wave.
RCMP and Saskatchewan Highway Patrol officers kept a watchful eye and ensured traffic, reduced to 60 km/h, could pass safely. The RCMP sent notice to the R.M. of Wallace-Woodworth during the Easter weekend that there may be a need to divert east and westbound traffic in the vicinity of the protest onto gravel roads, a concern during the spring melt period.
It is anticipated that more people will join the protest as word spreads, coming and going as their time and job demands allow, and Milligan said it could continue for several days.
“We are planning to stay for as long as it takes,” he said. “There’s going to be more people coming throughout the day...farmers who have to deal with cattle and chores and stuff, so I fully expect more people to show up and it’s going to get really big over the weekend if it goes to that point. Our top priority is to make it safe for everyone under the rights of peaceful protest and right to assembly.
“Our objective is to get the government to see that the people are standing up and we want our voices heard. We want recognition from the government that they can see how many Canadians are truly upset, because our voices in parliament fall on deaf ears. Canadians across the country can get together and unify to have their voices heard so we can hopefully get some major change going on.”
For his part, Leger hopes that politicians will react positively to the mounting dissatisfaction with the implementation of the carbon tax.
“There are quite a few politicians that are on board with getting this tax wiped out,” he said. “However, their word only goes so far. We’re not associated with any politicians, we’re just Canadians who have gathered together to try to get our voices heard. That’s what this is about and I hope that the politicians that are seeing this say ‘Wow, not only do we see the online presence but we physically see the people across the country that have had enough of this carbon tax and being that we work for the people we need to do better to get our people happy.’”
