RCMP tactical teams backed by Alberta Sheriffs have descended on the site of a carbon tax protest west of Calgary that all but shut down the TransCanada Hwy. on Monday.Dozens of protestors were still gathered at the Highway 22 turnoff south of Cochrane on Tuesday afternoon after police descended on the scene with body armour and assault rifles the night before.Witnesses told The Western Standard officers brandishing rifles entered the makeshift encampment and removed pylons from the road surface but had not asked them to leave. As many as 17 SWAT trucks remained on standby on the east side of the Petro-Canada service station..On Monday, Cochrane RCMP posted on Twitter (“X”) that an operation to divert traffic on Hwy. 1 was underway after protestors managed to all but grind traffic to a halt. Traffic was restored about two hours later.On Tuesday, uniformed officers lined the median to separate flag wavers from the highway shoulder. Sheriffs deputies manned turnouts and overpasses in cruisers while dozens of uniformed and plainclothes officers were on scene.The atmosphere was boisterous, but calm, as demonstrators continued to wave flags and honk horns while standing down a line of police officers.It was a scene repeated at dozens of similar protests across the country, including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Earlier on Tuesday, protestors on tractors caused a pile up of five semi trailers near Crowsnest Pass. .“They’re just keeping everybody safe,” organizer Freedom George — aka Tyson Billings — said in an interview. “We told them we weren’t going to shut down the highway today. Everybody’s chill.”Billings was a prominent organizer of the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa and was sentenced to six months probation in June, 2022 after pleading guilty to one count of mischief after spending several weeks in an Ottawa jail.He said police hadn’t asked anyone to leave and wasn’t sure how long the protest would last. “As long as it takes,” is all he would say. But by a rough count, at least 100 people remained, down from about 500 at its peak on Monday..He said the protestors wanted a meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. “If you have any connections, tell her to come on down and talk to us,” he said. “We appreciate what she’s doing, we just want to talk about carbon taxes. And freedom.”But speaking in Calgary on Tuesday, Smith said she doesn’t support protestors of any political stripe blocking highways and critical infrastructure.“As you know, police make their own decisions on arresting decisions. That's not a decision for a premier to make,” she said. “I don't endorse it when left wing activists want to block bridges and roads. And I don't endorse it when people who are opposing carbon taxes also want to block bridges and roads. There are ways to be able to do peaceful protests and continue to allow for the flow of goods and people.”“I don't support it when Extinction Rebellion glue themselves to the street and stop traffic and I don't support anyone stopping traffic as well. You can protest through the side of the road, (but) don't interfere with movement of goods don't interfere with the movements of your neighbours.”
