Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Five years ago on this day, Dec. 22, 427 semis, service rigs, bed trucks, crew trucks, pickups and everything in between showed up on a spur-of-the-moment to protest the energy policies of the Canadian federal Liberal government. It took less than 48 hours, from the time the decision was made to go ahead with a truck convoy protest in Estevan, until the first truck rolled out of Bert Baxter Transport’s yard. The impending carbon tax, ongoing frustration on pipelines, the demise of conventional coal-fired energy production and federal equalization were significant issues for many. Some were also concerned about migration policies and Canada recently signing onto the United Nations Migration Pact. policies of the federal Liberal government. The impending carbon tax, ongoing frustration on pipelines, the demise of conventional coal-fired energy production and federal equalization were significant issues for many. Some were also concerned about migration policies and Canada recently signing onto the United Nations Migration Pact. The convoy stretched 15 kilometres long and took an hour to pass Estevan City Hall, where 170 protesters, many wearing yellow vests, cheered.
Within weeks, there were similar truck convoys protesting in almost every significant oil producing community in Western Canada, from Virden, Manitoba to Grande Prairie.
One of the Estevan organizers was Jay Riedel. He said, “Five years ago, in 2018, Estevan and area came together in protest of the Liberal Governments damaging policies.
“It was a day we will never forget.”
He pointed out “427 vehicles and over 170 protesters, as well as hundreds lined the streets in what would become the biggest parade ever in the cities history. Thanks to everyone involved and that supported Us.”
The impact was much greater than that, however. It led to participation in the United We Roll For Canada convoy to Ottawa in 2019 a few weeks later. And that, in turn was a model for the trucker protest against COVID-19 policies in early 2022 that paralyzed Ottawa for weeks. The leaders of that protest have been prosecuted to the extreme, on charges of mischief that in almost any other Canadian court would have had about five minutes attention. The trial of Tamara Lich is still ongoing.
And many of the energy issues, like the carbon tax, are still very much an issue today.
This is the video Brian Zinchuk, at the time editor of Pipeline News, and now editor and owner of Pipeline Online produced documenting the event:
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