There is a fine line between public protest and public disorder.
Last week protesters converged at Highway 1 and Cowboy Trail just west of Cochrane to make their voices heard. While the carbon tax was nominally the reason for the protest, protesters seemed to be using the opportunity to voice a number of grievances toward the Trudeau government in general, opinions which went far beyond “axe the tax.”
It was good to see, however, the protesters being respectful of others using that part of the TransCanada Highway– they stayed along the service roads and the weighscale beside the highway to make their voices heard instead of impeding traffic.
Police had mentioned earlier in the week last week that five large tractors en route to the protest site had caused a multi-vehicle collision near Crowsnest Pass when they refused to stop for a police traffic stop. However, this ugly incident was an outlier and did not reflect the largely peaceful nature of the protests to date.
People should have a right to make their voices heard as long as they are being respectful of others who are trying to use the same public spaces for other means, and not impeding access to these areas.
One is also hopeful that protesters camped out along the roadsides are also seeing to their responsibilities to keep a tidy area by not throwing garbage or other refuse around where they are encamped.
As for the carbon tax, there is a lot of sympathy among Albertans for axing the tax, but that sympathy could turn toward anger quite suddenly if the protests do not continue to retain their largely peaceful nature, or cause any significant breakdowns in public order.
