More than 200 people waiting outdoors to speak with Premier Jason Kenney didn’t get the chance when he ducked out the back door of the Nobleford Community Hall in the small Southern Alberta town..Kenney’s security team whisked him away, bringing an abrupt, early end to the invite-only Cardston-Siksika United Conservative party (UCP) constituency association (CA) meeting on Friday..“His security detail did cut it short in the question-and-answer time because of some protesters that were outside,” said CA President Ed Vandenberg..UCP Deputy House Leader Joseph Schow, MLA of the sprawling constituency, left with the premier as the protestors gathered outside..They had a list of 10 questions for the premier. Some had been part of the February two-week blockade at the Sweetgrass-Coutts border held in protest of COVID-19 mandates from the Trudeau and Kenney governments..About 110 people inside the hall in Nobleford, population 1,300, met with Kenney..“We had sold more memberships than any other riding in the province and that was the reward, I guess,” said Vandenberg. .“It was an opportunity to speak to the premier. That was announced back in November already that the premier would meet with the CA. We were allowed to invite other people besides the board. We tried to invite a cross-section of our constituency to that meeting.”.Vandenberg headed outdoors twice to address about 25 people who already arrived..“But I could see there were more vehicles slithered down the street,” he said..They told him they were there to speak with the premier directly. .“There were angry people there. And there were reasonable people there.”.Alex Van Herk, one of the organizers of the Coutts protest, showed up in Nobleford..He predicted Kenney shutting them out won’t bode well for him at the April 9 annual general meeting in Red Deer where he faces an anticipated, hotly-contested leadership review..“Absolutely it will affect his vote. A lot of the people that were in the meeting were upset because they were aware of us outside and knew we were peacefully waiting for Kenny’s meeting to end,” said Van Herk..“This meeting was kept on the hush-hush. With the premier of our province, there should be nothing secret. But we got wind of it, and we had put our names forward to attend this meeting. We were denied by the UCP board from this area.”.Marco Van Huigenbos, a town councilor in Fort Macleod and a Coutts protest organizer, wasn’t allowed to attend..Constituents decided to show up and wait for Kenney to come out to speak with them..“We were there maybe 15 minutes getting everybody organized, making sure the roads were kept open because we promised the RCMP that were there. We said ‘Hey, we’re going to keep this peaceful, we’ll keep this lane open,’” said Ven Herk..“All of a sudden, his security team got all excited. All their cars started driving. They snuck him out the back door. We were at the front door. We weren’t trying to blockade him in or nothing. .“We weren’t going to storm the building. All we wanted was some open dialogue with our own premier that we voted in. That’s what we’ve been trying to do since January 31 since we did the blockade.”.Kenney refused to meet with the Coutts protesters..Van Herk said the outdoor crowd wasn’t rowdy..“Oh no, no, no. Absolutely not. We showed up with some tractors and stuff, right, to let him know, hey, this is the same group that you wouldn’t come and talk to in Coutts. .“They knew we were part of the leaders in Coutts. I think they probably thought we were radical. We kept everything peaceful in Coutts, the whole 16 days. At no point were we ever radicals or threatening or anything. I see no reason why we couldn’t be part of this meeting,” said Van Herk, who was the RCMP/protester liaison in Coutts..He said many constituency residents are frustrated about the impact of the COVID-19 mandates in Alberta..“I’ve got a fairly large family. I’ve got seven kids and six grandkids. I see what’s happened to the children in the last two years. Unnecessarily. The old people that had to suffer in the old folks’ homes. How many people died alone? The list goes on and on. And the lies, the corruption.”.The group wanted to ask Kenney 10 questions. They included:.• “Did you ever attend the World Economic Forum and are you currently a member of the WEF?”.• “In March of 2109 when the pandemic began you publicly stated that you were going to increase the ICU beds to 1,081, and currently there are 233 beds. Why did the bed capacity go down instead of up?”.• “Will you apologize to all the doctors, nurses, EMTs, tuckers, teachers, and everyone else that was coerced with lottery tickets, donuts, and pizza to get the jab, but now are suffering side effects and are you going to be responsible for all these people?”.• “Who is going to be held accountable for all the psychological effects that were put on all the children by wearing masks when science proved that masks don’t work, and kids didn’t spread the virus?”.• “Do you have the data as to how many lives were lost unnecessarily by people that were put on the back burner that needed surgeries but died because the hospitals were so-called overwhelmed?”.Meanwhile, inside the hall, Kenney answered about five questions about Alberta Health Services and lost employment. .“The premier spoke for a considerable length of time, took some questions. As can be expected, he convinced some but not all,” said Vandenberg..Some UCP members in the riding were also upset last week when Jodie Gateman, who was trying to challenge Schow for the riding’s nomination, was disqualified over alleged “hateful” Facebook postings..Gateman is appealing the decision..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
More than 200 people waiting outdoors to speak with Premier Jason Kenney didn’t get the chance when he ducked out the back door of the Nobleford Community Hall in the small Southern Alberta town..Kenney’s security team whisked him away, bringing an abrupt, early end to the invite-only Cardston-Siksika United Conservative party (UCP) constituency association (CA) meeting on Friday..“His security detail did cut it short in the question-and-answer time because of some protesters that were outside,” said CA President Ed Vandenberg..UCP Deputy House Leader Joseph Schow, MLA of the sprawling constituency, left with the premier as the protestors gathered outside..They had a list of 10 questions for the premier. Some had been part of the February two-week blockade at the Sweetgrass-Coutts border held in protest of COVID-19 mandates from the Trudeau and Kenney governments..About 110 people inside the hall in Nobleford, population 1,300, met with Kenney..“We had sold more memberships than any other riding in the province and that was the reward, I guess,” said Vandenberg. .“It was an opportunity to speak to the premier. That was announced back in November already that the premier would meet with the CA. We were allowed to invite other people besides the board. We tried to invite a cross-section of our constituency to that meeting.”.Vandenberg headed outdoors twice to address about 25 people who already arrived..“But I could see there were more vehicles slithered down the street,” he said..They told him they were there to speak with the premier directly. .“There were angry people there. And there were reasonable people there.”.Alex Van Herk, one of the organizers of the Coutts protest, showed up in Nobleford..He predicted Kenney shutting them out won’t bode well for him at the April 9 annual general meeting in Red Deer where he faces an anticipated, hotly-contested leadership review..“Absolutely it will affect his vote. A lot of the people that were in the meeting were upset because they were aware of us outside and knew we were peacefully waiting for Kenny’s meeting to end,” said Van Herk..“This meeting was kept on the hush-hush. With the premier of our province, there should be nothing secret. But we got wind of it, and we had put our names forward to attend this meeting. We were denied by the UCP board from this area.”.Marco Van Huigenbos, a town councilor in Fort Macleod and a Coutts protest organizer, wasn’t allowed to attend..Constituents decided to show up and wait for Kenney to come out to speak with them..“We were there maybe 15 minutes getting everybody organized, making sure the roads were kept open because we promised the RCMP that were there. We said ‘Hey, we’re going to keep this peaceful, we’ll keep this lane open,’” said Ven Herk..“All of a sudden, his security team got all excited. All their cars started driving. They snuck him out the back door. We were at the front door. We weren’t trying to blockade him in or nothing. .“We weren’t going to storm the building. All we wanted was some open dialogue with our own premier that we voted in. That’s what we’ve been trying to do since January 31 since we did the blockade.”.Kenney refused to meet with the Coutts protesters..Van Herk said the outdoor crowd wasn’t rowdy..“Oh no, no, no. Absolutely not. We showed up with some tractors and stuff, right, to let him know, hey, this is the same group that you wouldn’t come and talk to in Coutts. .“They knew we were part of the leaders in Coutts. I think they probably thought we were radical. We kept everything peaceful in Coutts, the whole 16 days. At no point were we ever radicals or threatening or anything. I see no reason why we couldn’t be part of this meeting,” said Van Herk, who was the RCMP/protester liaison in Coutts..He said many constituency residents are frustrated about the impact of the COVID-19 mandates in Alberta..“I’ve got a fairly large family. I’ve got seven kids and six grandkids. I see what’s happened to the children in the last two years. Unnecessarily. The old people that had to suffer in the old folks’ homes. How many people died alone? The list goes on and on. And the lies, the corruption.”.The group wanted to ask Kenney 10 questions. They included:.• “Did you ever attend the World Economic Forum and are you currently a member of the WEF?”.• “In March of 2109 when the pandemic began you publicly stated that you were going to increase the ICU beds to 1,081, and currently there are 233 beds. Why did the bed capacity go down instead of up?”.• “Will you apologize to all the doctors, nurses, EMTs, tuckers, teachers, and everyone else that was coerced with lottery tickets, donuts, and pizza to get the jab, but now are suffering side effects and are you going to be responsible for all these people?”.• “Who is going to be held accountable for all the psychological effects that were put on all the children by wearing masks when science proved that masks don’t work, and kids didn’t spread the virus?”.• “Do you have the data as to how many lives were lost unnecessarily by people that were put on the back burner that needed surgeries but died because the hospitals were so-called overwhelmed?”.Meanwhile, inside the hall, Kenney answered about five questions about Alberta Health Services and lost employment. .“The premier spoke for a considerable length of time, took some questions. As can be expected, he convinced some but not all,” said Vandenberg..Some UCP members in the riding were also upset last week when Jodie Gateman, who was trying to challenge Schow for the riding’s nomination, was disqualified over alleged “hateful” Facebook postings..Gateman is appealing the decision..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
