LETHBRIDGE – For the second straight day, convoys protesting the controversial Bill 6 are rolling on Alberta highways.
Multiple convoys are travelling to Lethbridge ahead of Thursday’s 1 p.m. feedback session at the Lethbridge Lodge. One convoy started in Cardston and made its way up Highway 5; another arrived on Highway 3 from Fort Macleod. Those participating are eager to voice concerns at the feedback session.
“It’s very hard to define the family farm, and if that’s what [the NDP] want to try to do, it’s not going to happen in the next two weeks,” said Casey Christensen, a farmer from outside Magrath. “A year is not even enough time. We need to take the time, they need to do it properly and they need to consult with farmers.”
Thursday’s convoys come one day after hundred of farm vehicles traveled along Highway 2 to Okotoks in a similar protest.
“Our voice needs to be heard,” said Doug Keeler, another farmer participating in the convoy. “In this whole process we’ve never been consulted once. This is the only way we think we can let our voice be heard.”
After an uproar from protesters earlier in the week, the NDP government announced amendments to the bill that will see neighbours and children volunteering their time exempt from Workers Compensation Board (WCB) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) regulations.
As the two convoys arrived in Lethbridge, police were directing traffic – clearing a path for the column of vehicles to the Lethbridge Lodge on Scenic Drive South. The city issued a rally permit allowing the convoy into the Lethbridge, as long as traffic laws were obeyed. As traffic downtown slowed to a standstill, some took to social media to vent frustrations:
Minister of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour Lori Sigurdson and Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Oneil Carter are expected to address a large crowd of farmers and ranchers at Thursday’s meeting.
© Shaw Media, 2015
