Western Standard - LIVE： Alberta border blockade drama

00:00:00.000 Good afternoon, I'm Melanie Risden with the Western Standard and we are doing a live check-in

00:00:11.120 right now at the Coutts border, the blockade that has been going since Saturday. There's been a lot

00:00:17.040 of developments happening throughout the day today. Everything through Saturday and Sunday

00:00:22.640 was going quite peacefully and it sounded like there were really no issues, but things are sort

00:00:29.840 of stirring up right now. And so we're going to speak with one of the organizers, Nick Friesen.

00:00:35.920 He's a 20-year cross-border trucker who is also one of the organizers for the blockade that's

00:00:43.180 happening now, as well as Abe Martins, who is an eight-year cross-border trucker and one of the

00:00:49.180 participants at the Coutts border as we speak. So just looking to do a bit of an update because

00:00:57.700 there is a lot of information swirling around through media, through some of our politicians

00:01:05.420 in the province, wanting to make sure that we are bringing the exact truth of what's

00:01:11.980 happening forward so that people understand what's going on.

00:01:14.880 So first of all, let's check in with Nick, Nick, one of the organizers.

00:01:20.380 Nick, give me a little bit of an idea about what this was all designed for and to do.

00:01:31.520 Well, we were all tired of the mandates.

00:01:35.340 And I'm also cross-border trucking, as you mentioned.

00:01:37.500 And two weeks ago, I can't cross the border no more.

00:01:40.560 And that was the big part of my job.

00:01:43.240 That's all I did.

00:01:43.940 so and just all these things we're hearing about uh the vaccinated they're in the hospital

00:01:49.920 uh with covid and stuff and we're seeing all these all the stuff that's going on out there

00:01:55.660 that's just you know it's just just propaganda it's a plandemic it's not a pandemic i don't

00:02:02.460 think it ever has been and it's just all the all the rules and regulations that got in place there

00:02:06.900 just control everybody and we're just tired of it we've had two years of it and it doesn't seem to be

00:02:12.640 you know, going anywhere. So we, you know, we figured we needed to step up and do something

00:02:18.060 about it. And this was sort of being coordinated in tandem with the convoy that was headed to

00:02:24.860 Ottawa over the weekend and has now arrived. So this was sort of, I know you had mentioned to me

00:02:31.960 earlier, this was about the truckers that weren't able to do that cross Canada convoy. And this was

00:02:39.820 their way of being able to to participate yes yeah there's a lot of people that couldn't take

00:02:46.000 three weeks off or a month off of what i was going to take so they figured well let's let's do

00:02:50.500 something else where we're working where can we jump in and help support the con uh convoy or even

00:02:55.640 just you know send the message and make it a bigger message right so not just the convoy guys

00:03:00.820 but we decided we're going to come down to the border and um you know shut the border down and

00:03:06.220 the government's attention and tell them we're serious about all this right so so a lot of a

00:03:11.580 ton of people here in southern alberta and even northern alberta they came all the way down from

00:03:15.100 slave lake and peace river in lacrete and so there's tons of people down here and uh so they're

00:03:20.940 all in support of this because we're just we're just fed up with the mandates so now premier jason

00:03:27.900 kenney tweeted last night or yesterday afternoon i believe it was um that the blockade was unlawful

00:03:34.540 and uh and is uh in violation of the of the traffic act the the highway traffic safety act um

00:03:43.260 what uh and and this is due to the fact that the the the board or the highway is fully closed

00:03:50.620 is the highway fully closed yes it is as of now it's still fully closed yep okay so now what about

00:03:59.260 access because i know the rcmp one of the requests that the rcmp had was that there be a lane

00:04:06.060 available in both directions for emergency personnel uh if you know for school buses

00:04:12.060 things like that is that is that the case yes uh there is a lane open we've actually have a

00:04:19.580 gravel road that just kind of detours a little bit but it's totally open to anybody who wants

00:04:25.020 to travel that we haven't blocked that road one bit and uh here where we've got our convoy and

00:04:30.220 everything set up all the trucks and stuff there we've have we have lanes open there we've actually

00:04:34.140 got a video showing the school bus driving through here this morning and we have videos of the

00:04:38.620 ambulance driving right past our trucks and stuff and getting to actually a trucker who was actually

00:04:43.020 in need of assistance here yesterday so yeah we have we have everything on video we can show that

00:04:49.340 that we do not have everything so blocked off that the emergency vehicles cannot travel

00:04:53.180 that's a that's a blatant lie so now now you mentioned the school buses uh i i had heard from

00:04:59.980 one of the constables on site there one of the rcmp constables that school buses were not able to

00:05:05.580 get through this morning and confirmed with the school division in milk river that also said the

00:05:11.500 school buses had not been able to get through however um the school uh the principal had said

00:05:17.420 that she was advised and was under the impression that the school buses were going to be permitted

00:05:25.020 to get through there was going to be access but it was in fact first student which is the company

00:05:31.980 company that they contract to pick up the students that decided not to uh to make the trip or to to

00:05:40.300 transport the children this morning but you are saying that a school bus did get through with

00:05:44.540 children on it? Hi this is Abe here if you don't mind I can speak into this a little bit. Okay so

00:05:51.020 and I'll just introduce you Abe. So again Abe is one of the truckers that's participating,

00:05:56.380 an eight-year cross-border trucker who has been participating and has been down

00:06:01.580 at the Coutts border blockade since the beginning. I'm sorry to do this I just got to correct you

00:06:07.340 there I'm actually not a cross-border trucker okay sorry yeah no that's fine I don't even cross the

00:06:12.300 the border and i'm here to support this fully so yes that's me um so there was a school bus that

00:06:18.520 went through this morning with no issues uh i don't know whether there was children in there

00:06:23.500 or not or what but um we did have a local coots lady here who also is in full support as has been

00:06:30.480 every single other resident of this town so far uh they just asked if we could leave some room

00:06:35.760 for the school buses and a plan has been made to move over even more in order to make 100% sure

00:06:43.380 that the school buses can safely and also feel safe about getting through so okay and all of 1.00

00:06:49.560 the coots residents here as well are are able to go as they please and 99% of it well every single 0.99

00:06:56.680 one of them so far has been in full support as well uh they want us here they're they're giving

00:07:00.760 us food and coffees and everything so yeah now i understand that there is a blockade that's been

00:07:08.280 set up now in milk river um by the rcmp not allowing people to come further towards the

00:07:16.040 blockade is is that correct that is what we have heard multiple times now so it's it's kind of 50

00:07:23.880 50 we we do still still see some vehicles coming but yes so perhaps they're they're um discerning

00:07:31.560 who can go through the border at um at milk river the rcmp are discerning who can go through and who

00:07:37.400 cannot yes but but as it stands uh so so some of the some of the coverage and some of the reports

00:07:45.720 that have been circulating and and the reason i'm i'm discussing this with you um with you both is

00:07:51.720 because some of the information that i'm receiving from the rcmp and some of the information that's

00:07:58.520 been tweeted by the transportation minister as well as the premier are not really congruent

00:08:04.760 with some of the information that that i have been told by the organizers of the blockade so

00:08:10.280 one of the things that i understand is that it was said that there are truckers who are stuck

00:08:15.880 without food and water okay do you want us to speak to that yes please yeah so that as far as

00:08:24.100 we know is not true uh there was a a little viral video that went around on i think it was tick tock

00:08:29.360 where they were saying uh that we were blocking people from getting food and necessities um of a

00:08:35.340 group of truckers we're talking and uh that that video was confirmed to be actually on the u.s side

00:08:42.000 where we're not allowed to go so i can't really speak much to that but out here uh every single

00:08:47.040 trucker is aware and lots of them are coming to eat with us uh they're chatting with us hanging

00:08:51.800 out many of them are in full support they're like well this really sucks but we we want to go home

00:08:56.520 but uh we're in full support something needs to be done we actually had a uh we have video we try

00:09:02.680 to take video of everything because you know nothing as they say pics or it didn't happen

00:09:07.280 rate so uh there's actually guys uh truckers trying to get to the u.s that are that were

00:09:14.580 stuck here last night um they're coming out here playing music on their speakers uh uh and dancing

00:09:22.000 and like people just having fun like it's it's it's an unfortunate situation but i think people

00:09:27.780 are trying to make the best of it and everybody is fed uh there's like hundreds of people just

00:09:33.120 offering food uh diesel for vehicles to stay warm like it's unbelievable we've had the

00:09:40.480 local community of coots uh there they've been awesome they've been making 500 sandwich

00:09:45.940 like lunch bags a day and they've been driving up and down the truck lanes and where the trucks

00:09:51.200 are all parked and handing out lunches to everybody like to the guys that are involved

00:09:55.320 in this rally and the guys that are actually stuck here where they can't go anywhere right

00:09:58.880 so they're being fed we've been telling them to come join us we have an area where we've been

00:10:02.980 preparing food and eating and stuff at and a bunch of guys come in there we had four guys that

00:10:06.940 showed up yesterday and said well we were vegetarians so we we had a local lady here

00:10:12.120 in town or whatever she ran home and she made up four vegetarian meals for him and stuff and came

00:10:16.220 back right so so anybody that's telling uh going around and saying that you know we're not feeding

00:10:22.100 the truckers or truckers are going hungry it's a blatant lie because most of them are in support

00:10:26.860 there's a few guys that are not but most of them are in support and we're treating them and they're

00:10:30.040 with us and like uh they're you know we're feeding them they're just they're just with us

00:10:34.480 they're shooting debris with us you know involved in conversations about what's going on right so

00:10:40.600 so we felt we've seen very very little opposition there's a few but and we've had no fights no

00:10:47.160 nothing it's been a been a real peaceful awesome thing so far now i understand that there may be

00:10:54.040 some truckers perhaps canadian truckers that i'm hearing are stuck on the other side of the border

00:10:59.040 cannot get across the border to come up with their loads.

00:11:03.840 Do you know anything about that?

00:11:05.860 Do you have any information?

00:11:06.880 Are you able to communicate with some of the truckers

00:11:09.780 that are on the American side of the border

00:11:11.860 doing the blockade on that side?

00:11:14.640 No, we haven't.

00:11:17.020 We don't know really what's going on

00:11:18.600 on the other side of the border and stuff

00:11:19.840 because we can't really see

00:11:20.740 because we're far enough north of the border

00:11:22.820 that we can't see what's happening on the U.S. side.

00:11:24.940 So no, we've had next,

00:11:26.760 well, actually no communication with anybody on the north.

00:11:29.040 side, so we don't really know what's going on over there. Okay. Okay. Now, I also heard

00:11:35.380 one of the corporals that I spoke with was talking about the fact that the village of

00:11:44.480 Coots supplies fire support to the town of, I think it was, is it Sweetgrass down in Montana?

00:11:56.720 and the concern there is that fire trucks are not going to be able to cross the border

00:12:03.680 if there is a need for them to attend a fire or serve the community down there.

00:12:10.080 What can you say to that?

00:12:12.340 Absolutely not.

00:12:14.020 We're sitting in a truck right now that's probably about 30 feet away from the access to Coutts

00:12:19.500 and looking at it right now, it's fully open to even super large wide vehicles.

00:12:26.720 uh from leaving coots and they can go straight to the to the border like like we said we're

00:12:32.640 we're not so close to the border that we're actually blocking the border we're just blocking

00:12:36.440 the entrance to and from everyone here at coots can actually cross the border into the u.s if they

00:12:42.180 want because we're our con where our blockage is far enough back that we that every single one

00:12:47.920 that lives here in coots can actually cross and i went i went through town yesterday and i seen

00:12:52.100 where the fire department was and they have total access to the border to get through if they want

00:12:56.400 so that's just not right. Okay and just double checking, we had the video that you sent and it

00:13:06.400 was with regard to a medical emergency that happened with one of the truckers. Can you speak

00:13:11.680 a little bit about that because I know that the transportation minister had put out a tweet today

00:13:17.360 this morning citing how emergency incidents were not able to be attended or something to that effect

00:13:24.880 or medical emergencies can you speak to what happened that you know of uh so you're referring

00:13:30.640 to the ambulance that came through uh i believe so i believe that there was a medical emergency

00:13:35.920 for one of the truckers is what um what i've heard and yeah so so yeah if you can give me a

00:13:43.440 little bit of of an idea what happened there yeah so actually i was uh i was at the hotel right as

00:13:50.720 the ambulance showed up and when was this pardon when when did this happen was this yesterday this

00:13:56.560 was last night if you give me one second here i can tell you what time as well sure it was about

00:14:02.080 6 p.m yesterday about 6 p.m an ambulance showed up uh no sirens on just lights uh moseying on

00:14:09.840 through no it looked like they were in no rush they had a full two-lane road they were coming

00:14:14.400 in on and uh they showed up and they went to a a trucker that was uh stuck in traffic there

00:14:20.080 they went to his aid and um they parked there so we we uh we just went to witness and uh uh just

00:14:28.520 to videotape just to make sure that things weren't you know just to make sure everything was okay

00:14:32.900 and um the guy the the person that went into the ambulance he he walked in himself he was in there

00:14:40.840 for in what i remember a max of two or three minutes he walked out everything was fine

00:14:47.320 uh and he was good i think the ambulance was out of there within five maybe ten minutes and they

00:14:54.340 just slowly drove off they had no issue getting here um a friend of mine actually called me about

00:14:59.300 an hour before that already and uh saying that by the milk river um blockade there where the police

00:15:05.920 were there was an ambulance getting through there no lights on or nothing but he was just getting

00:15:09.600 through there uh and then they he was actually seen uh probably about on the gravel road uh

00:15:16.400 bypass to coots uh speaking with a couple of officers for 10 or 15 minutes before he came to

00:15:22.640 before the ambulance came to coots to to aid this guy okay so you sent me the video for that and i

00:15:29.280 believe that we have it here uh we can we can roll that just to show sort of the um the scenario that

00:15:36.160 was unfolding so just so everybody knows that ems vehicle has been parked beside the undercover

00:15:49.040 black vehicle inside of milk river not beside this one that's parked beside right now but another

00:15:55.520 unmarked vehicle sitting and visiting with chris and with mark and so we're very skeptical about

00:16:03.360 this whole emergency that's going on here we were told that there was an emergency

00:16:06.960 so coming in here we sat and visited we've had at least 10 to 15 minutes with these undercover

00:16:16.160 and then all of a sudden the lights went on and they decided to come in here and i hope that they

00:16:20.560 don't make a media spin on this but that's the feelings that we're getting so there's lots of

00:16:26.000 access that guy walking there behind that suburban as well he's the one that was in distress and

00:16:31.200 he's walking around no problem and just so you know we have given them lots of room to be able

00:16:37.200 to get through and we're just making sure that the media doesn't make a spin on this

00:16:42.560 and as you can see you can back up no problem lots of room lots of room there's access right

00:16:48.640 into milk river these trucks can all get out at any time this intersection show that intersection

00:16:56.560 right guys that intersection right there is wide open they can get out without any issues

00:17:01.840 so right from where he's backing out out along that street

00:17:07.600 we just have to be clear about the video right so yeah so i think what what the main takeaway there

00:17:16.880 is that um there is no there is no blockade for the emergency vehicles if if there is an emergency

00:17:25.440 situation if there's a fire there is access um there is the the lanes um that are that are open

00:17:32.400 and able to allow these buses and the emergency vehicles through correct absolutely the ambulance

00:17:39.200 has been here the whole time that we've been here they're actually driving around cruising around

00:17:42.960 here with amongst us and everything else so and yeah they have total access to to the town here

00:17:48.880 and to where we're at and to all the truckers there and stuff so yeah that picture right there

00:17:53.200 I mean, it's kind of hard to see, but in between there at the blockage there, there's a pathway through people standing around, but they're letting everybody through.

00:18:00.640 Plus, we still have the gravel road that's on the northwest side of the highway and north of Coutts.

00:18:07.820 That's totally been open the whole time.

00:18:09.600 We haven't blocked it in one bit.

00:18:11.140 If anybody's blocked, it's the RCMP.

00:18:13.000 It's the 500, right?

00:18:14.160 Yeah, I think it's the 500 or something.

00:18:17.440 Now, sorry, what do you mean by the 500?

00:18:20.140 I think that's what the road is called, but it's a gravel road.

00:18:23.200 Okay, so what you're saying is there is other access roads into Coutts that are still completely accessible and the blockade and the truckers have nothing to do with trying to block those off?

00:18:35.720 Nope. So, yeah, as far as we know, I think it was yesterday night as well, right after the ambulance incident, they were actually letting, I think they let five or six trucks go, the police, let them, they just backed them up, guided them, backing up and got them on that gravel road and they went into Canada.

00:18:53.200 So when you say that the border is blockaded or blocked off, but yet there is still the ability for, say, fire trucks to get through to service sweetgrass, what is the border blocked from?

00:19:09.780 Who cannot cross the border?

00:19:13.040 Basically, commercial and personal travel through the border.

00:19:16.540 so the the access point right here at the on the highway four coming up to the boost there

00:19:22.620 we're controlling access there like it's open like the coots people can travel through but

00:19:27.860 the guys that are coming uh north from the u.s uh they're going to get stuck at the blockade and

00:19:34.680 also guys um uh going north so we're controlling the access there but we're but it's basically

00:19:41.160 blocking the cross-border travel is what we're doing. And now, Nick, when you and I spoke about

00:19:46.600 this earlier, you had mentioned that you knew this was going to pose an inconvenience for people.

00:19:54.520 And that is exactly what Premier Kenney tweeted, was that this is causing an inconvenience for

00:20:01.400 people. Speak to that for me, will you? Well, how do you send out a message saying

00:20:10.920 you're finally full of it you've had it yeah we've had we've had convoys we've had speaking rallies

00:20:17.560 um nothing ever changed right so now we decided we're gonna you know put a little bit of pressure

00:20:23.560 on a sensitive area which is the border here and uh we knew a lot of stuff was happening across the

00:20:29.480 country of borders and stuff like that we knew what was happening to ottawa so we're just trying

00:20:33.240 to add to the message and there's more more people right i mean it's just it's amazing how many

00:20:38.360 people are coming out to these convoys and just even watching and stuff that it's canada like

00:20:43.160 albertans and canada we're finally tired of all this stuff there's no logic there's no rhyme or

00:20:49.720 reason why we still gotta have vaccine passports in place when we now have more vaccinated people

00:20:55.160 in the hospitals and unvaxxed right and stuff like that so we we just got to the point we thought we

00:20:59.720 we had to make a stronger stand we had to send out a stronger louder message and hopefully the

00:21:05.720 the government would listen to us right because just having speaking rallies i mean what's what

00:21:09.480 does that do right i mean now we're shutting down a border now they're really listening they're

00:21:13.080 they're scrambling to get things done and try to get open and stuff and now we got their attention

00:21:17.720 and that was a whole the whole uh whole idea behind this so now now they're calling for the

00:21:23.560 blockade to be moved for the trucks to be moved what do you say to that well we've said that we're

00:21:31.240 going to stay put until jason kenney removes the mandates which are totally illegal in my opinion

00:21:38.920 and they're also um there's just no logic behind it anymore like there's no reason to have a vaccine

00:21:44.920 passport in place anymore i know he has nothing to do with a cross-border mandate or whatever but

00:21:50.280 we're pushing kenny for for you know all the other stuff that's happening right all the mandates that

00:21:54.920 we have in alberta we just don't make sense that there's no there's no logic there's no just we

00:21:59.560 We just can't wrap it around our heads to try to understand why we have all these mandates in place yet.

00:22:05.740 Just to be clear as well, if you don't mind, this is not an anti-vaccine protest or rally.

00:22:13.660 This is nothing to do with the vaccine, really.

00:22:17.420 It's the mandates, which the vaccine mandate is part of it, obviously.

00:22:22.520 But Nick and I both have friends who have been vaccinated.

00:22:25.300 We all do.

00:22:26.340 But that was their choice.

00:22:27.940 And it should be our choice as well.

00:22:29.280 it should also be our choice to keep moving forward in our lives like this is this is for

00:22:35.120 our kids future any single person you will talk to who is in support of this any single person

00:22:40.880 who is at any of these events you will ask what are you doing this for this is for my kids future

00:22:47.840 so again i'm speaking with uh nick friesen one of the organizers for the coots border blockade

00:22:53.600 as well as Abe Martins, who is a trucker that is participating in the blockade.

00:22:59.980 And we're just getting a live update from them.

00:23:02.120 Now, my understanding through Saturday and Sunday,

00:23:06.040 speaking with both you, Nick, and some of the other participants on site,

00:23:10.860 as well as our own James Finkbender, who was down and he was reporting for us

00:23:20.160 and sending video and pictures.

00:23:23.260 And he was also indicating that everything seemed very peaceful. The police officers,

00:23:27.980 the RCMP that were on scene were very happy with what they were seeing. Even you, Nick,

00:23:37.100 I believe told me that they were happy with the fact that organizers and truckers were complying

00:23:45.260 and sort of doing everything that they were asked to be doing.

00:23:53.340 When did this change?

00:23:54.800 When did the sentiment change?

00:23:57.400 Well, I don't even know if the sentiment really changed

00:23:59.760 because we've been in communication with the RCMP officers down here and stuff,

00:24:04.920 and they're all very happy the way things have been turning out and stuff.

00:24:07.760 We've had no fights.

00:24:08.760 We actually talked to one RCMP yesterday, and he said there had been fights,

00:24:12.960 and we have no idea where he's getting that from

00:24:14.880 because we've had not a single fight between people.

00:24:18.020 We had one incident this morning.

00:24:19.140 One truck driver was getting a little frustrated.

00:24:20.640 He wanted to get moving.

00:24:22.000 But other than that, no fights.

00:24:23.300 It's been very, very peaceful.

00:24:26.120 So I don't know where this one RCMP officer got that information from.

00:24:29.340 But right now, there's a lot more officers that showed up this morning,

00:24:34.920 the tactical force people and stuff like that,

00:24:37.620 and nobody's doing nothing, right?

00:24:38.900 I mean, I don't think the sentiment's really changed.

00:24:41.380 I think it's I think it's the fake news global and CTV that are actually, you know, sending out bad, bad information.

00:24:47.980 And it's starting to make us look bad here. But the sentiment out here hasn't really changed.

00:24:52.060 Our C&P guys are still very happy the way we're doing things. We haven't changed the way we're doing things.

00:24:56.120 We're just peacefully doing our thing. We're holding our line. So I don't know.

00:25:00.760 So I don't know what else to say to that. But yeah, well, what what I've also noticed, sorry,

00:25:08.040 I'm just getting to some comments that we're getting from some viewers that are watching us

00:25:14.840 live. Just to let me find those comments here. Sorry. And so I think what I've noticed as well

00:25:23.720 is I have been in communication with the organizers, or sorry, not the organizers,

00:25:32.040 but the RCMP who are on site there and was told, you know, as long as the organizers and the

00:25:39.240 truckers are doing what we are asking them to do and complying with the rules and making sure that,

00:25:45.480 you know, emergency vehicles can get back and forth and that, you know, nobody is put in a

00:25:51.560 position of danger, you know, with the idea of a medical emergency or a fire or things like that,

00:25:56.840 that the RCMP were sort of content to just let this continue as long as everything stays peaceful

00:26:07.080 and safe. But the conversations I've had today sound a bit different. They sound like what I'm

00:26:17.160 hearing is that the organizers and truckers have not been complying, have not been following the

00:26:25.320 recommendations that they are and I don't know if this if this pertains

00:26:29.700 strictly to where you are blockading things or the fact that things are being

00:26:35.100 stopped at the border I'm just not sure no absolutely not there has been as far

00:26:42.720 as I know zero disagreements even with with police obviously they don't want us

00:26:46.920 to do what we're doing but there have been zero threats verbal or written

00:26:52.140 bitten whatsoever because we have been unbelievably peaceful uh if there's even troublemakers spinning

00:26:59.020 their tires the slightest little bit we've got a group of 10 people ganging up and saying hey guys

00:27:03.800 this is not what we're here for just to keep holding holding each other accountable we're not

00:27:08.400 here to do any damage we're not violent whatsoever will not be will never be um this is the only thing

00:27:16.720 we can do we we work with them they have a they have a a job to do the police um and i would say

00:27:23.520 i i guess i can't really say but uh they're in support of this like the majority of these people

00:27:29.520 i don't think they want to do anything i think they want us they haven't said this so don't

00:27:34.140 take words out of my mouth but i think they want us to be doing this because they want us to stand

00:27:38.840 up for their kids futures as well and they have a job to do and they have a family to feed and so

00:27:44.420 they have to take their orders and they have to do as they're told and we understand that no matter

00:27:48.720 what happens here we understand that we we don't hate the police we love the police we we wouldn't

00:27:52.900 be here without them okay uh just wanting to get to some of these chats okay um

00:28:03.120 so yeah there's a lot of comments here from uh viewers talking about uh people please stop

00:28:12.260 listening to the mainstream media. There has been a lot of, you know, comments here about the fact

00:28:19.440 that mainstream media has been communicating misinformation and sort of embellishing the

00:28:26.900 stories negatively. That comment came from Shelley. And a lot of comments here are also encouraging

00:28:34.000 you to stand your ground and saying that they're proud of you. And even people making comments

00:28:41.900 that the police are sort of in a tough position and they're of course trying to do their jobs and

00:28:49.980 do what they're being told. But I suspect that now because of the sound of the issues being raised

00:29:02.220 or being communicated with the idea that emergency vehicles, there's no emergency access,

00:29:09.820 things are blocked off um people are unsafe uh their hands are being forced to bring out more

00:29:16.700 force yeah so and again we're more than willing to work with them if there's a blind spot that

00:29:24.460 we're missing we're more than willing and we will have there will there's not a single person here

00:29:29.180 as far as we know that we've talked to and we've talked to hundreds uh that is non-compliant in the

00:29:35.260 the sense that they want anybody to be harmed uh anybody to go hungry uh anybody to be in danger

00:29:41.060 whatsoever so if that is the case uh we're more than willing to move but as again again if that

00:29:46.760 is not the case we haven't had that we haven't had officers ask us in a couple of days to move

00:29:51.680 uh in order to make room for emergency vehicles because we do have the access and they told us

00:29:57.240 they told us that right beginning right in the beginning when we moved into position here

00:30:01.080 that we needed an access lane and emergency lane and we had that actually planned before we even

00:30:06.000 showed up here we had that planned a week ago already because we had everything down pat how

00:30:09.360 we're going to do things and uh so since we got got parked here nothing has changed and the rcmp

00:30:16.740 been around here and if we would have been in a position where we needed to change something they

00:30:20.360 would have told us about it we would have moved um to to keep the peace and to to keep order right

00:30:26.040 but they they've been 100 okay with what we've been not doing up till now and even up to this

00:30:30.760 morning nothing has changed except for now we've actually let the northbound guys that were stuck

00:30:35.740 here they've actually all taken off but we're still keeping the border closed and and all the

00:30:40.820 guys stuck between the canadian border and our blockade had a total access to get out of the out

00:30:47.180 of their spot if they would have communicated with each other the truckers there they could have

00:30:50.800 moved around and they could have all left if they would have wanted to but we were told yesterday we

00:30:55.060 had some guys that walked up and down the road and there was a up and down the line there and there

00:31:00.160 was like 70 truckers all together and 70 truckers that were part of the part of the protest or 70

00:31:06.900 truckers that were just trying to get through yeah the ones that came through that were kind of

00:31:11.820 kind of stuck there and only about 10 or 12 of them actually wanted to really leave everybody

00:31:16.480 else was right right right on board with us and stuff they were totally in support and and we let

00:31:22.080 those uh those they were let out this morning uh those ones that did want to leave they were let

00:31:27.180 out and uh same with the southbound traffic heading towards the state the states there was

00:31:33.040 a couple of truckers that wanted to leave and they were they were escorted out as well today

00:31:37.940 like we're so anyone who is stuck on either side although i know you said you can't really speak to

00:31:43.920 the american side of things but anyone stuck on the alberta side of the border if they want out

00:31:50.320 if they're stuck and they want out um you are working to find them an exit and to get them out

00:31:57.200 absolutely okay so nobody's stuck there starving with no water um no we have we have a bunch of

00:32:05.780 truckers here that are actually southbound like they're looking to get across the border into the

00:32:09.840 u.s and they've been here since saturday and we've told them you can turn around like we've had a

00:32:14.860 bunch of guys turn around and go to milk river where there's restaurants and everything else

00:32:17.760 but they're staying here they love being part of our groups here that we were having together when

00:32:22.360 we're having our meals and stuff like that and and and yeah so total support and and yeah very

00:32:27.440 little opposition no matter what the mainstream media says even even the truckers that were let

00:32:33.480 go today uh let go that sorry that sounds bad but um the ones that went by they were encouraging us

00:32:41.140 majority of them were encouraging us guys don't don't leave stand your ground thank you so much

00:32:46.080 for what you're doing and they've been stuck here since saturday and they were thanking us for what

00:32:50.320 we're doing okay it's not we're not a fringe minority let's just say now now i'm seeing there

00:32:55.840 are some comments here um uh charman jones uh mentions that rcmp are blocking travel south at

00:33:05.120 milk river uh it sounds like and and so this was um something else that we had heard we had heard

00:33:11.360 that rcmp or or the authorities were were ramping up tow trucks um to come and to the blockade so

00:33:20.880 have you witnessed the tow trucks are there tow trucks lined up um i i think with the intention

00:33:26.800 of trying to haul away uh vehicles that are participating in the blockade uh intimidation

00:33:35.200 i believe but yeah they are around they're they're not here yet but okay so now i spoke with

00:33:42.400 um i spoke with a tow company out of tabor uh who said that um the fellow that i spoke with said that

00:33:50.800 he had been um at the uh blockade over the weekend uh and also said that he has heard uh rcmp or or

00:34:00.880 authorities or somebody has been phoning around to local tow trucking companies in and around the

00:34:08.160 area to help bring tow trucks into the area to help tow away people participating in the blockade,

00:34:17.520 but from what I've heard, they're refusing to. Can you speak to that a little bit? I mean,

00:34:23.280 I have to assume that from what I was told from the one in Tabor, they just don't want to

00:34:30.880 They don't want to have to participate in this, but they also are in support of what the truckers are doing.

00:34:39.480 Yeah, some of these tow truck companies, they have a government contract.

00:34:43.340 So that requires them, if the government calls, that they have to come and do their thing.

00:34:48.520 But we've had guys that are talking to them, guys, and they're really, really hoping that we're just going to block them up so they can't even do their work.

00:34:54.840 Because they're in support of this, but because of their contract, they have to do what they're supposed to do, right?

00:34:59.800 so and there it's not something that we're not aware of and prepared for either for them to show 0.81

00:35:06.160 up so we'll just leave that back okay um and so i was speaking with the coots uh mayor very very

00:35:14.720 quickly uh i'm sorry i'm just uh i'm trying to grab his name um jim willett i was speaking with

00:35:24.440 the mayor very quickly uh he had he had returned my call just before we went live with you uh now

00:35:29.720 uh i'm seeing somebody here is is saying is it possible that elected officials from coots can

00:35:34.940 speak to the issue this is from linda uh so yes we i have spoken with the mayor very briefly

00:35:40.820 uh he said uh basically he feels like he's at the bottom of the information chain so he's trying to

00:35:48.560 get an update of where things are at right now but um according to him he said protesters can stay

00:35:53.680 as long as they would like, but he would like the blockade, anything blocking travel to be lifted.

00:36:01.480 So that was what the mayor explained to me, the mayor of Cootes explained to me just before

00:36:07.740 we went live here. So yeah, I think what I've noticed is there's just been a real shift

00:36:17.860 in the information from it being considered quite peaceful protest to now it's sounding like there

00:36:26.360 are reasons why the RCMP would have to sort of mount some sort of a response. And I just think

00:36:33.760 it's important that people know exactly what's happening. So would you two both say that you

00:36:40.520 have the the group there the um the organizers there everyone has um done what they can to

00:36:48.520 adhere to all of the requests that have been made of you absolutely beside but besides uh you know

00:36:55.200 opening the border up right i mean everything else we've done peacefully we've done according

00:36:59.540 to what we were supposed to do and when it comes to the mayor here we we knew a week before we even 0.90

00:37:05.220 show it up that he was against what we were going to do and uh but the community of coots i mean

00:37:11.420 there's just a lot of people they just tell us just ignore the mayor because he's he's biased

00:37:15.460 he doesn't like us anyway he doesn't like any of this kind of stuff so um so yeah i don't know i

00:37:22.940 just uh i'm baffled to where the situation has changed i know the cops have to show up i don't

00:37:28.080 know what they're going to be doing here in the next day or two i know we're blocking the border

00:37:31.380 I know it's illegal, but we had to make a stand.

00:37:34.980 So the cops are down here in force today,

00:37:37.700 and we don't know exactly what they're doing or what they are going to do,

00:37:42.540 but they are going to intimidate us, I'm pretty sure of it.

00:37:45.480 They're going to try to get us to leave without, you know, any other force,

00:37:49.020 but we'll see how the day progresses and see what happens.

00:37:51.920 But really, for the rest, I just don't understand where this information is coming from,

00:37:57.980 where things have changed here, because really nothing has changed from Saturday.

00:38:01.380 Mm-hmm. Well, and I think part of it, again, is a lot of people, again, just reading these comments, a lot of people are speaking to what's being reported in other mainstream media outlets.

00:38:12.740 Well, that's a problem, right? I mean, you get global and TV news nowadays. I mean, they're so biased. They're so fake.

00:38:19.380 Have you seen any of them? Have you seen any reporters down there?

00:38:22.860 Oh, yeah. We were, we tried, like I said, again, picks where it didn't happen is what the kids say.

00:38:27.740 and so we've been following them around everywhere they stick their uh video camera everything they

00:38:32.740 do we follow them around and we get it on video as well so and uh if anybody doesn't like don't

00:38:38.660 believe anything until you actually see it for yourself um on video uh or in person come out

00:38:44.020 here i dare like just i i encourage people to come out here yeah let's get jason kenny out here

00:38:49.020 to come take a look at how this is actually going there won't be a single single issue

00:38:53.360 i mean justin trudeau could come out here and he would be welcomed and people would want to

00:38:58.860 have a conversation there's zero zero attitude of uh hatred or violence here it's it's it's a big

00:39:05.800 party uh people are having a great time this picture that keeps coming up where the where

00:39:10.460 we got the rows of the trucks and there's campers and stuff in the ditch and stuff like that

00:39:14.020 i mean i think that picture was taken either early in the morning or late in the evening

00:39:17.720 because yesterday sunday that ditch was filled full of people and cars and stuff like that was

00:39:23.180 like a sunday fair happening here and stuff and people were here with their kids and stuff like

00:39:29.180 it's it's been a it's been an awesome thing so far now i know you're encouraging people to to come

00:39:35.020 and witness it for themselves but i think um part of the problem might be um that people are being

00:39:41.500 restricted at milk river to come any further uh unless they're perhaps local i'm i'm not sure

00:39:48.140 uh i did put a call in again to rtmp to try to get um a little bit more of an update from their

00:39:54.700 side of things and um that only started that only started this morning though so and by the way which

00:40:02.540 is as far as i'm concerned that's illegal as well they can't they they can't uh block people from

00:40:07.420 coming here so what they're doing is illegal as well as far as we're aware we've had quite a few

00:40:12.620 people we've had quite a few people that actually crossed here um that weren't supposed to cross but

00:40:17.100 but once they started pushing it, that they were illegal.

00:40:20.260 And if you videotape them, that's the key, everything.

00:40:23.420 Every encounter we have with officers, we videotape.

00:40:26.780 And I think it's a little bit harder to take people's rights away

00:40:30.480 when you're on video and the whole world has potential to see it.

00:40:33.760 So what was your last communication from the RCMP or with the RCMP?

00:40:41.160 Well, I've had no communication with the RCMP this morning.

00:40:44.860 um we just we just know we've had 40 more rcmp or uh law enforcement vehicle show up this morning

00:40:52.940 some of them have the tactical enforcement thing on the side of their trailers and trucks and stuff

00:40:58.480 like that so but we've had no communication with them yet um we're in a building right now and

00:41:04.220 they've had some meetings while we've been talking here so i'm not sure exactly what they've all

00:41:07.760 agreed to or like they might have been doing some negotiating and stuff like that so we're not sure

00:41:12.220 we were in this meeting here with you today but um but yeah so you so you haven't had any

00:41:19.500 sit downs with the rcmp as as an organizer today not today yeah no everybody showed up and everybody

00:41:26.900 was just doing their own thing we were having breakfast and our coffees and stuff like that

00:41:30.020 and so uh there's other guys that were actually kind of going approaching some of the rcmp's and

00:41:35.740 talking to them and stuff like that but i guess i should clarify one other thing here too uh i'm not

00:41:40.740 the organizer of this whole thing what happened was we we were as a group had an organized uh

00:41:46.960 convoy down here and we were going to block the border in a different way than what actually

00:41:51.200 happened but um but what happened was so many different factions or different uh freedom rally

00:41:57.800 groups uh found out what we were doing and they want to be part of it so they just kind of jumped

00:42:01.700 in and joined in with us and and that's why there was such a massive turnout there uh saturday and

00:42:06.660 so you know there's all kinds of different people working well we're all for the same goal for the

00:42:11.540 same plan right and the same message but things kind of work different ways right because we had

00:42:17.460 some groups they kind of wanted to do it this way and actually it was a different group that actually

00:42:21.140 blocked off the off the board of the way they did it and so yeah there's it's not just me and a few

00:42:27.060 other organizers that actually did that there's there's a lot of different groups here that are

00:42:30.260 actually kind of working together now and stuff and so so so at the at this point how many vehicles

00:42:37.060 are would you say how many vehicles trucks uh are participating in the blockade at this point

00:42:42.580 roughly and and how many people are still you mean what we started off at or what we're at still now

00:42:47.780 that has um maybe both yeah like like let's get an idea of where you were and where things are at

00:42:53.380 now that's hard to tell yeah um i think we had about 1200 vehicles show up saturday that was cars

00:43:00.260 cars pickup trucks and semi trucks tractors yeah tractors trailers everything and um uh right now

00:43:07.380 like a lot of those guys just came for the day convoy and stuff like that and stayed for the day

00:43:10.960 and most of them are coming back during the day and uh but uh right now i think we got a couple

00:43:16.880 of hundred uh trucks uh sitting here at the border that are that are kind of holding the line there's

00:43:21.520 also a uh a group that's i think being blocked by the police probably about three kilometers away

00:43:27.240 another group that was coming to join in and uh here for the long haul so we're not sure how that's

00:43:32.740 going over there we just saw it we don't know um and there's other groups from all over alberta

00:43:37.280 that are still planning to come out uh big farmers uh like big trucking outfits everything you name

00:43:43.240 it like big uh equipment anything but i guess it's just trying to find a way out here now so

00:43:48.380 and and is you're saying they can't join you because of the blockade that rcmp have set up

00:43:53.000 at milk river is that is that the reason so i think they found alternate gravel gravel roads

00:43:59.320 and uh it looks like some of those gravel roads are being blocked as well already it just but

00:44:03.640 this is all just from what we've seen not anything we've heard okay uh so isaac says go truckers go

00:44:11.000 everyone everyone needs to focus on the same goal work for freedom love these hard-working guys um

00:44:17.160 You know, another person, Antana, says blockade can't be won.

00:44:24.560 I guess, you know, we'll have to see.

00:44:26.140 The damage is done.

00:44:27.800 Whatever happens, the damage is done.

00:44:30.200 Strength in community, Wanda says.

00:44:33.480 Someone else is suggesting Vancouver needs to block their border next.

00:44:39.820 Yeah, there's a lot of people.

00:44:42.240 You know, Wanda also says hold the line.

00:44:47.160 we are frustrated with all the lies and fake news from the msm and government that's from shirley

00:44:52.920 um uh yeah so there's it i would say um sort of scrolling through there are there are people um

00:45:02.120 who are uh you know stating that this is uh this is going to be a a large inconvenience but i would

00:45:09.480 say for the most part most of the people are in support of what you are doing there yeah you know

00:45:15.880 it's a it's a it's an inconvenience i i get it we understand all that but it's been an

00:45:21.080 inconvenience for me now too because for now for the last two weeks i can't cross the border anymore

00:45:24.840 because i'm not vaccinated and what about all the other conveniences we have at the restaurants and

00:45:30.520 stuff i can't go in a restaurant anymore and that doesn't make any sense anymore i mean they should

00:45:34.040 have pulled that vaccine passport a long time ago the minute the the vaccinated covet cases came into

00:45:39.080 the hospital and when they matched the number of the of the of the unvax that vaccine passport

00:45:43.320 should have been dropped instantly and yet they still have it now we got 81 of alberta cases in

00:45:48.500 the hospital covet cases that are that we got at least one or two or three doses of the vaccine

00:45:53.420 and and so now the unvaxxed are now a minority and they're still holding these uh these mandates 0.98

00:45:59.440 against us it just where's the logic what is it what do the governments think we just stupid we 0.98

00:46:04.580 don't understand what's going on we we see what's going on and it's lies and it's and it's um 1.00

00:46:11.240 It's a scam. I don't know. It's hard to understand how the governments still

00:46:15.560 have these mandates in place when it's as clear as day they don't work.

00:46:21.480 Well, I really appreciate you two taking the time for a live update. So this is again

00:46:28.200 Nick Friesen, one of the organizers, one of many organizers and a 20-year cross-border trucker.

00:46:35.560 We also have Abe Martins, who is an eight-year trucker participating down in the blockade

00:46:42.520 at the Coutts border in southern Alberta. And it sounds, so again, this was just a live update

00:46:50.440 because there was a lot of incongruencies that I was hearing between speaking with what was

00:46:55.960 happening on the RCMP side of things versus what the organizers were communicating. So just an

00:47:02.520 important fact if you are in and from the coots area you are able to get in and out of the um of 0.92

00:47:09.240 the village there uh it you know the the buses are able to get through um to get uh students and

00:47:17.080 and children to to the schools in milk river uh and emergency vehicle access has not been blocked

00:47:23.880 is not uh been hindered by the by the blockade um there are no truckers that as far as we know on

00:47:31.160 the alberta side no truckers that seem to be stuck without food or water um and anyone who

00:47:38.360 uh according to nick and abe anyone of the any trucker that is in the the long stretch of blockade

00:47:45.960 who wants to get out they are being accommodated to to be able to exit correct yeah that's right

00:47:52.760 yeah we've had like going back to uh what we're doing to help these truckers that are stuck here

00:47:57.800 there's a couple of truckers that had their pet dogs with them and stuff and some of them were

00:48:02.740 running a little low on dog food we had a guy yesterday run all the way in the left which

00:48:05.700 went and picked up some three bags of dog food and we're giving it to them we have a big stack

00:48:11.820 of death for the df fluid df fluid for the for the semi trucks and stuff that we that we went

00:48:18.260 and bought so we could supply the truckers with that so they don't run out of it so the trucks

00:48:21.860 can keep running if they need it for the heat and stuff we had one guy who was uh running low on

00:48:26.940 fuel he didn't think he was going to be able to run his truck for more than a couple hours well

00:48:29.620 somebody showed up with a big tank of fuel gave him a gave him a bunch of fuel and we just gave

00:48:33.880 it to him we're not charging anybody anything we're helping them guys to stay safe and warm

00:48:38.880 and fed and everything like it just it's amazing how these guys are all stepping up and helping

00:48:43.480 each other here the other thing i wanted to mention too was i'd heard um that this blockade

00:48:50.480 organizers have been able to access some of the money that has been raised for the convoy and

00:48:57.120 and you know we're talking i i'm not even sure where that's at now over probably over 5 million

00:49:02.800 if not more um so so is that is that true um that some funds are being diverted here to help with

00:49:09.280 uh some of the expenses the truckers uh food um things like that absolutely not uh you're talking

00:49:17.440 about the ottawa ottawa gofundme we have nothing to do with them uh we're just cheering them on

00:49:23.360 that's all uh we have our own gofundme up and uh we haven't as far as i know withdrawn anything

00:49:30.400 so far it's literally been out of our own pockets and donations and we have like we have

00:49:36.160 uh we have a group that donated 3 000 eggs like that's just one example of many many many and

00:49:43.200 And there's people calling every day to ask, what do you need?

00:49:46.200 We're in support, but we can't make it.

00:49:47.620 What do we do?

00:49:48.820 Okay.

00:49:50.220 Yeah, like huge amount of Tim Hortons coffees and donuts and sandwiches

00:49:54.960 are showing up every single day.

00:49:56.280 Plus the local community here, the people from Cootes,

00:49:59.780 they've been making 500 paper bags of lunch.

00:50:04.580 500 every single day.

00:50:06.160 Well, actually two days now.

00:50:07.420 So we haven't seen today yet, but yesterday and the day before.

00:50:10.840 So 500 each day.

00:50:11.920 like it just there's so much uh help and so much donations coming in and stuff so yeah it's

00:50:18.400 and your gofundme what what is it um what is it identified as do you remember what it's called

00:50:24.880 uh no uh i'm really sorry we haven't been focused on that so um i would that's okay i understand

00:50:31.520 there are a number of of organizers working on this so i think it's uh just look up something

00:50:36.640 like uh alberta convoy to coots or something like that it should it should pop up border freedom

00:50:42.080 rally is what we were called border freedom rally there you go okay uh all right um okay yeah still

00:50:49.360 uh still some comments coming in these guys can't see that far across the border and are unable to

00:50:54.880 speak about it so um is there any way that we can like is any of the organizers in communication with

00:51:02.320 say uh somebody on the u.s side that is part of the the trucker movement on that side is there

00:51:08.800 is there any way that uh that we can try to get a little bit more information on what's happening

00:51:14.000 south of the border we won't get any right now okay we can try see we we heard there's there's

00:51:20.960 a big uh big convoy down there too on the u.s side and stuff a bunch of people protesting and stuff

00:51:25.920 but when we went to the border there we didn't really see anything because we can actually go

00:51:29.120 to a certain part of coots here we can actually look into the u.s side of the border and we

00:51:33.920 haven't seen much so but it is blockaded off on that side as well or are you or is it the alberta

00:51:40.720 side that's preventing like who's preventing um the cross border from the u.s side u.s truckers

00:51:47.200 uh no that'd be us okay because we we've got it got blocked on the canadian side so there's no

00:51:53.440 north or southbound travel happening right now we were we were told there was groups of

00:51:58.800 thousands coming from the u.s to block all the borders as well so we're just speculating there

00:52:04.160 might be a group on the other side from the u.s that may have may have been doing the same thing

00:52:08.000 but we have zero confirmation of that okay okay well we'll see if we can find out a little bit

00:52:13.680 more on on that side um yeah tyler says don't move boys don't let anything through um this

00:52:23.680 this person says haven't been proud to be a canadian for two years faith in humanity restored

00:52:28.560 thank you canadians um we are with you um stand for freedom of choice these vax mandates are illegal

00:52:39.520 uh that's from crystal um stand your ground from joanie uh yeah so uh again there are hold the

00:52:48.480 line boys well done i'm trying to find a balance to to to let you know to announce uh other comments

00:52:56.640 but yeah it says here Paul says the U.S. side is in total agreement and doing their part

00:53:04.000 um and then yeah somebody is is also confirming make sure you are keeping videos and pictures

00:53:09.920 for um for evidence to just make sure that you have that for the interactions that you're having

00:53:15.280 so so um thank you very much for the update uh I think it's been very helpful yeah can I can I

00:53:23.120 i get one minute here just for a little bit of a message here um so this is just to all those

00:53:30.140 people uh if you're not quite sure i mean most of you i think are in full support of what we're

00:53:36.280 doing here uh and for those that are on the fence and for those of you guys that absolutely hate

00:53:42.680 what we're doing here uh we understand completely we hate being here i would have loved to be at

00:53:48.560 church with my family yesterday morning um but i also want to go to church with my family in 10

00:53:54.420 years in 20 years i want i want that for my kids future i want that freedom to do so and your

00:53:59.420 freedom not to and every single one of you every single one of your kids your grandkids your

00:54:05.600 families we're doing it for you guys and whatever comes of this we will we will not keep we will not

00:54:13.340 stop fighting yes we're part of this like i mean it's amazing what's happening even like all of

00:54:19.580 canada and and around the world right i mean they're seeing what's happening in canada

00:54:23.660 canada's finally standing up uh to this tyranny right i mean that's what we that's what i would

00:54:30.460 call it because there's just no logic or rhyme to to have these mandates in place and and put

00:54:34.860 so much pressure on people to take these vaccines that's that is that there's more and more proof

00:54:39.980 coming out and evidence showing that these vaccines are doing no good they're doing more

00:54:43.660 harm than good actually right so well and it's not even just the vaccines either it's uh it's

00:54:49.020 like the masks aren't working the closing off four feet so you can't walk here and there like

00:54:54.620 all of these mandates this absolute arbitrary garbage to just that they're just putting these

00:55:01.420 laws out to make it look like they're trying to do something they haven't been working and they're

00:55:05.340 not going to work in the future let's just move on okay okay well thank you uh for the update and

00:55:13.900 it sounds like we have somebody heading down there just to to make sure that we have eyes

00:55:19.180 and ears on everything that's happening and perhaps he will hunt down you know the organizers

00:55:26.460 perhaps you nick but hoping i can also check in with you guys later or or you can keep me posted

00:55:32.940 if if the circumstances do change there or anything gets heightened we would we would like

00:55:38.220 to stay in in contact with you guys yeah we'll do that we'll keep it we'll keep in touch thanks so

00:55:43.180 much for listening all right thanks very much just a quick update there from nick friesen and abe

00:55:48.700 martens they are two truckers that are participating in the blockade that is happening at the coots

00:55:54.860 border in southern alberta right now according to the organizers they have done everything they

00:56:01.580 have been asked. The only thing that is fully blocked is the cross-border travel. However,

00:56:09.260 emergency vehicles, access for emergency vehicles to respond to the town of Sweetgrass in Montana

00:56:18.780 from the Coutts area also able to get through. And yeah, it sounds like

00:56:25.420 It sounds like things are starting to get a little more heated up there, perhaps with

00:56:32.220 some misinformation or some reports that are coming in explaining a different situation there.

00:56:37.500 But there you have it. That is where things are at right now and we will

00:56:41.580 certainly stay on top of what is happening at the border crossing as things progress.

00:56:46.940 Thanks for joining us this afternoon.

00:56:55.420 You

Western Standard - January 31, 2022

LIVE： Alberta border blockade drama

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript