By Sheldon Spackman

Yellow Vest Convoy to Ottawa to roll out from Red Deer

Jan 4, 2019 | 4:30 PM

A convoy is planned to roll out from Red Deer to Ottawa next month to raise awareness around the struggles of Canada’s energy industry.

Glen Carritt, lead liaison for the Yellow Vest (Official) Convoy to Ottawa, says the convoy is currently planned to depart Red Deer on February 15 and culminate with a rally and protest on Parliament Hill five days later.

“We want to show the federal government that Albertans and all of Canada are fed up with the way we’ve been treated and with them trying to shut down the oil and gas industry,” he exclaims. “We’d like for them to relinquish or at least revisit Bill C-48 and Bill C-69. We need to get some action on pipelines and getting our product to tide water.”

Carritt is unsure how many trucks and vehicles will be part of the convoy at this point but knows the turnout will be large as it makes its way across the Trans-Canada Highway to the nation’s capital.

“When we had a rally in Nisku there were over 2,000 trucks,” states Carritt. “In Brooks, in four days we rallied together 400 trucks. It could be anywhere from hundreds to over 1,000 trucks which is going to create a lot of noise in Ottawa.”

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Carritt says the convoy will largely be travelling at highway speeds along the way.

“We can’t slow the traffic down, otherwise it will take a couple weeks to get there and part of the reason for picking Trans-Canada is the four lanes,” he explains. “We’re hoping people are understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish here and that we don’t delay traffic going out there.”

Carritt is confident their voices will be heard in Ottawa but remains skeptical the government will make any changes.

“I don’t think Prime Minister Trudeau is ready to make any changes, otherwise he would have made changes a long time ago,” says Carritt. “But we’re going to make it heard and we’re going to try and get Canada united to make people realize that this government isn’t helping the oil and gas industry, which is in turn not helping Canada at all.”

Carritt acknowledges the world markets can’t be controlled but adds there’s more the government can do to help.

“The Canada Select price has been hammered so many times because we can’t get our product to tide water,” he laments. “With the U.S. being our only market, they’re just laughing to the bank and selling it back to us at a profit, so we can control that a little bit by getting our product out to the rest of the world.”

Carritt says it’s not just the Trans Mountain Pipeline that needs expanding but adds Alberta’s oil needs to get out to the east coast as well.

“It’s a peaceful protest, we’re using the yellow vest as a symbol,” he explains. “That symbol, however, has definitely been tarnished by hateful people and we’re not hateful people. We’re just taking our right to protest.”