The group of yellow-vested individuals rallying outside of the Outlook town offices building may have been small, but their enthusiasm surrounding their beliefs and views on the federal government was certainly massive in emotion.
On Saturday afternoon, January 26, a handful of people with the growing Yellow Vest Movement that has been popping up in locations across Canada braved the chilly temperatures to stand and make their beliefs known to passersby. The protest rally saw people coming from several communities; a couple from Conquest, one from Milden, one a former pastor who now cooks at LCBI High School, and a husband and wife from Lucky Lake.
Their signs made it quite clear where they stand on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the issues currently dominating the Canadian political landscape: ‘Keep Canada Sovereign’, ‘No Trudeau, No Open Border, No United Nations, No Globalization, No Carbon Tax’, ‘Canada First’, ‘Trudeau Must Go’, ‘Axe Carbon Tax’, ‘Yes To Legal Migrants’; if you’re ever unsure where the Yellow Vest Movement stands on select topics, it’s not hard to discover the group’s core beliefs.
And although the rally had small numbers as far as actual attendance, the consistent honks and thumbs-up from passing motorists showed visible proof that there is support at the ground level from at least a portion of everyday Canadians on what the movement is trying to accomplish.
“We’re getting lots of thumbs up and lots of honks,” said one man from Lucky Lake. “I think most of us have felt this way for a long time, and now we have a platform. That’s what the basic thing is; now we can voice how we feel, and we don’t have to keep it in. We’re not about violence or racism at all; if someone wants to call me a racist, I’ll just wave and say, ‘Hey, that’s fine, free speech and all.’ We’re doing it because we’re fed up with losing good work because of government interference. I’ve lost probably three good jobs in my lifetime due to government interference, and I want my grandchildren to have a future.”
The Yellow Vest Movement has had extensive coverage in the Canadian media since adopting the practice from protesters in France, but it hasn’t been all that positive, with a number of reports highlighting extreme racism and hateful views toward government officials and ethnic groups. Group members say that while there are some whose harsh views have put the movement in a negative light in some aspects, they call themselves a ‘peaceful uprising’ that advocates a No First Use policy for violence, but also “shall not tolerate mistreatment or ignorance by authorities, individuals, or other violent groups”
In other words, there are two sides to every story, and the Movement hopes Canadians will inform themselves of what the group is all about in order to make up their own minds.
As far as their thoughts on the federal election taking place later this year, there are obvious hopes from the group of the Trudeau-led Liberal Party being outed, but what they really hope to see is Canada simply getting out and exercising their right to cast a ballot in the first place.
“I’m hoping we get a majority, but apathy being what it is out there, I think the Yellow Vest Movement is going to help change that, but as long as we get people out to vote,” said a Lucky Lake man. “I really don’t mind who people vote for, vote with your conscience and vote how you feel, but just get out and vote. We’re not political, but we want people to be informed voters.”
Those affiliated with the Yellow Vest Movement say they have no ties to any political party in Canada, and are just advocating for change as far as what they feel the federal government is doing “against the common man.”
In the eyes of the men and women donning yellow vests and holding up signs in the winter cold, Canada’s leaders just aren’t listening.
It’s been learned that another protest rally is planned to happen in Outlook again this coming Saturday.
