Juno News - April 03, 2024


Anti-carbon tax protesters frustrated with Smith


Episode Stats

Length

5 minutes

Words per Minute

149.65259

Word Count

840

Sentence Count

58


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hey everyone, welcome back to the Alberta Roundup. I'm your host, Rachel Emanuel.
00:00:14.860 Today, we are taking a look at one of the biggest news stories in the country this week.
00:00:19.380 Canadians from across the country gathered on Monday to protest the latest increase to
00:00:24.680 the federal carbon tax. They gathered along provincial borders, on highways, and outside
00:00:30.600 Liberal MPs' offices. Protesters at the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick provincial border even
00:00:36.300 succeeded at slowing traffic to a near standstill until the RCMP rerouted the traffic. The tax rose
00:00:42.680 to $0.17 per litre of gasoline and $0.15 per cubic metre of natural gas on April 1st. And one of the
00:00:49.680 biggest protests took place outside of Calgary on Highway 1 heading west towards Banff. A mere 15
00:00:55.340 minutes from my house. You better believe I headed down there and here's a look at what I saw.
00:01:11.680 Plan for today is just to get organized and meet and greet people and we're waiting on a phone call
00:01:19.660 here to see if the sign place is open for traffic control and uh. So I just spoke to you and you
00:01:25.820 said you've got no exit plan so you guys are planning to maybe camp out on the highway for a couple days?
00:01:30.060 We're going to be camping out yeah because there's no departure date let's put it that way.
00:01:33.980 They keep doing this and we have to basically make an effort to um to actually you know step up
00:01:42.700 and actually you know voice voice our get our voice out and ensure that we're not actually going to
00:01:47.900 continue with fuel prices the way that they are. I came out here today because people are having
00:01:53.660 trouble buying food and paying rent and paying for their mortgages. We're being taxed again
00:02:00.540 and more and more people are falling behind. They can't keep up. I'm standing here for the people
00:02:06.060 who can't be here because I we deserve to have our rights to peaceful protest.
00:02:12.380 It seems that organizers weren't joking about it being just a one-day protest.
00:02:16.940 I returned on Tuesday and many were still there about a hundred to be exact
00:02:21.100 but the scene had changed significantly there was about 30 officers stood between protesters
00:02:25.900 and the highway to ensure that they would have no chance of blocking traffic once again.
00:02:30.300 Let's take a look at that scene.
00:02:48.300 It looks foolish. It's a waste of taxpayer money. They're standing in a ditch watching us smile, wave,
00:02:55.500 and stand for our rights.
00:03:19.180 Also on Tuesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith was asked how she felt about the protesters and here's
00:03:23.900 what she had to say. Well look, let me give that direction. I don't support it when Extinction
00:03:28.140 Rebellion glues themselves to the street and stops traffic and I don't support anyone stopping traffic
00:03:34.140 as well. You can protest, do it at the side of the road, don't interfere with the movement of goods,
00:03:38.780 don't interfere with the movement of your neighbors. It's the reason why we have the
00:03:42.220 Critical Infrastructure Act and I would just ask people to be compliant with the law.
00:03:45.580 Some protesters told me that the Premier should have been there supporting them
00:03:48.940 and that her absence caused them to lose support for her.
00:03:51.740 Do you think the Premier should be here? Yes. Do you support her? No.
00:03:56.620 Because she isn't here or just you never have? Just because she's not here.
00:04:00.780 But I'm sure we would all love to talk to her and give her the time of day, right? Right.
00:04:05.340 We're all supposed to be in this together. This isn't Ontario, this is Alberta.
00:04:09.420 So, you know, a lot of Albertans have had her back and we voted for her, I voted for her.
00:04:15.100 So, Danielle Smith, we're disappointed. I mean, she should be here, right? She's our Premier.
00:04:24.380 So, you're disappointed in the Premier. Do you think that she should be here supporting you guys?
00:04:29.340 Well, at least finding out what we're standing for.
00:04:31.820 Right.
00:04:31.980 Yeah.
00:04:32.060 Did you hear today she said that she doesn't think that protesters should be blocking highways?
00:04:37.180 We didn't actually block the highway, so that's probably a rumor. There was traffic flowing all
00:04:45.820 day long. Yeah. Just slowing traffic. That police blocked the highway up on that hill yesterday.
00:04:50.780 That brings me to my question of the week. Do you still support Alberta Premier Daniel Smith,
00:04:54.700 or do you believe that she should have been more supportive of the carbon tax protesters
00:04:58.700 and maybe even attended one of the many demonstrations? Comment on the video below and
00:05:03.020 I'll respond to some of the best comments under Saturday's episode. Okay, everyone. That's all
00:05:06.620 we have time for today. I will be following this story with close interest. You can see all my
00:05:11.580 updates on my X account or simply stay subscribed to True North for the latest updates. I'll see you
00:05:17.020 guys on Saturday. Have a great rest of your week and God bless.
00:05:33.020 I'll see you guys in the coming next one.