Regina 鈥� The wind was cold, desperately cold, on the steps of the Saskatchewan Legislature at noon on Jan. 8. It was perhaps a fitting metaphor for the supporters of Saskatchewan鈥檚 energy sector, who have been out in the cold for a long time now. And that metaphor was not lost on several of the speakers, including Premier Scott Moe, when they addressed the crowd of rough 200 attending the Regina rally.
The rally was put by Canada Action and Rally 4 Resources, along with the Regina Chamber of Commerce. There was a strong presence from Brandt, which brought out a sideboom on a lowboy trailer with a sign saying 鈥淧ipelayers built in Regina by Brandt.鈥� The United Steelworks and United Association also had significant presence, part of the building trades unions representation. May of the people held signs saying, 鈥淚 love Oil & Gas.鈥�
The cold resulted in something akin to a flash mob. Ten minutes before the start, next to no one was standing outside, but once it did start, people departed their warm vehicles and gathered, sometimes using signs to shield their faces from the cold wind with a -30 C wind chill. And as soon as it was over, they were gone.
Canada Action
Cody Battershill, founder of Canada Action, started out, saying, 鈥淲e鈥檙e out here today because we know how hard we work to feed our families, working in our oil and gas, mining, agriculture and resource sector, but we鈥檙e not seeing support for our families, with policies from the federal government right now. This isn鈥檛 partisan, this is about policy, bad policy like Bill C-69.
鈥淭he reality is you can鈥檛 say you support the energy sector if you鈥檙e going to ignore energy investors, energy workers, energy families, energy municipalities, First Nations, and executives, that are all telling the federal government Bill C-69 will mean no more pipelines.
鈥淲e鈥檝e also got Bill C-48, the no oil exports from northern B.C. (bill), that many First Nations are against. We need support for Trans Mountain. We need support for Energy East. And we need to all work together, because we鈥檙e all Canadian, and we鈥檙e all in this together.
鈥淚鈥檓 standing out here in the cold, because the federal government is leaving us out here in the cold,鈥� Battershill said, to applause.
Battershill added that Canada Action is positive, non-partisan, and respectful. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we鈥檙e focusing on our issues, energy and our energy families, and we鈥檙e not talking about other issues.鈥�
This was an oblique reference to his earlier request that those attending not wear yellow vests, but rather, their work coveralls. There has been growing schism between the long-established pro-energy activists, like Canada Action and Rally 4 Resources, and the upsurge of yellow vest protestors over the past month. Many in the yellow vest movement have included among their causes opposition to the recent United Nations Migration Pact, in addition to energy issues. Canada Action and its allies have sought to distance themselves from the Yellow Vest movement as a result, and next to one wore high-visibility gear to the Regina Rally.
That didn鈥檛 sit well with everyone, however. One man from Ralph, Sask., expressed to Pipeline News he wasn鈥檛 happy about 小蓝视频 told not to wear yellow, and he wore his high visibility yellow jacket anyhow.
Premier Scott Moe
The premier did have a work jacket on, a dark green fire retardant one (with stripes) provided by HSE Integrated. And he spoke to the crowd in a rallying-style speech.
Moe thanked those present for coming out saying it was, 鈥淥n a day, when, I think many of us agree, we feel like we鈥檝e been left out in the cold here in Western Canada and Saskatchewan.鈥�
鈥淲e have here, with us today, rig hands, we have welders, we have pipefitters, we have steelworkers, we have truckers, we have miners, we have farmers, we have the folks that built that pipelayer, sitting beside you here today, built out at Brandt Manufacturing, right here in Regina. And we鈥檙e coming together for one reason, in support of our resource sector, a resource sector that powers, not only the Saskatchewan and Alberta economy, but powers the Canadian economy. A resource sector that supports hundreds of thousands of families across this great nation, providing hop and opportunity to so many,鈥� Moe said.
鈥淎nd I dare say, a resource sector that pays for the quality of life that we enjoy in this great nation of Canada,鈥� he said.
鈥淟adies and gentlemen, you are here today because you care about our resource sector. You care about our province and you care about our nation. And I also know, sometimes, it just seems like no one is listening. Let me tell you, here today, let me tell you this clearly, and let me tell you this emphatically: we鈥檙e listening to you.鈥�
鈥淲e hear you, the government of Saskatchewan hears you, and we will advocate on your behalf, every step of the way, so that, very soon everyone in this nation is going to hear you,鈥� Moe said to applause.
He recounted telling the prime minister to 鈥渏ust watch me鈥� when it comes to fighting the carbon tax. 鈥淲hile that still stands true today, ladies and gentlemen, we鈥檙e facing so much more than just a carbon tax. We now have Bill C-69, the no more pipelines bill. In Canada, we already have one of the most stringent review processes in the world, a review process that we can be proud of. We don鈥檛 need a complete overhaul of the federal review process, what we need is an environmental process that actually works.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 why Bill C-69, the no more pipelines act needs to be scrapped.鈥�
He said that bill caused the proponent for the Energy East Pipeline to leave. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 causing the very slow death, by strangulation of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. The federal government says no to big oil tankers with their no oil tanker ban, now, which essentially killed the Northern Gateway Pipeline. But they say yes to big oil tankers coming into Quebec. They say yes to big oil tankers coming into Quebec carrying oil from Saudi Arabia, from Venezuela, from Nigeria,鈥� Moe said as the crowed booed.
鈥淚n this nation, we have one of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, clean, sustainably produced energy products. Yet, each and every day, from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, we import over 700,000 barrels of foreign oil, because we just can鈥檛 get a pipeline built in this country.鈥�
He noted what Saskatchewan has gotten from the federal government are tougher methane regulations, a mandated coal phase-out that will kill thousands of jobs in Saskatchewan, and a carbon tax.
鈥淎 destructive, and ineffective policy that will kill jobs in our province and in our nation, and it will drive investment out of Saskatchewan, and out of Canada. A carbon tax that quite simply will not work, will nor reduce emissions. It only reduces jobs,鈥� Moe said. 鈥淭oday we are dealing with a federal government that, quite frankly, doesn鈥檛 get it. A federal government that doesn鈥檛 understand our industries, and it doesn鈥檛 understand how we support our families. A federal government that doesn鈥檛 understand us here in Saskatchewan. We are developing resources here, in Western Canada, in our nation, resources in the most efficient manner possible. We are developing our resources in the most environmentally sustainable manner possible, when compared to anywhere else in the world, and our federal government just doesn鈥檛 understand.
鈥淟et me tell you: we get it. Our provincial government gets it.鈥�
鈥淪o I stand with you here today and I say this, I say to our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberal government in Ottawa, I say this with you, when you鈥檙e wondering how far we will go to stand up for our industries, and you鈥檙e wondering how far we will go to stand up for our Saskatchewan families, just watch us,鈥� Moe concluded.
Senator Denise Batters
Senator Denise Batters spoke about Bill C-69. She called C-69 鈥淭he anti-pipeline bill,鈥� saying it was horrible and unfixable, and that Conservative senators have been fighting it tooth and nail. However, independent senators, including those from Western Canada, supported the bill in principle. She called out various independent senators, including Senator Pamela Wallin of Saskatchewan, for supporting it.
鈥淲e know the oil industry downturn, which has devastated Alberta, has also harmed Saskatchewan鈥檚 economy. We are fighting for pipelines, and for resources development, and against Trudeau鈥檚 do-nothing, costly carbon tax,鈥� Batters said.
Regina Chamber
John Hopkins from the Regina Chamber of Commerce also spoke, saying, 鈥淭oday, we stand united, government, labour and business. We are all in this together. All of us, here, support sustainable, environmentally responsible resource development. But there are those who, in this country, who seek to shut us down. They have but one goal in mind, to keep it in the ground. Ladies and gentlemen, we need to say enough is enough. Let鈥檚 put Canadians first! We are the true grassroots movements in this country. We have no foreign money funding us. We have not professional protestors, and we have no secret agenda.
鈥淲e have one agenda, sustainable, environmentally responsible resource development. Canadians working for Canadians. In Regina, thousands of people work in the resource sector. Thousands. We are here to stand up for you.鈥�
Building Trades
Dion Malakoff, executive director of Saskatchewan Building Trades, said, 鈥淲e are here today to support getting our resources to market, whether it鈥檚 oil and gas, potash or grain. It wasn鈥檛 too long ago we had our grain backlog, in much the same way as our oil is backlogged, discounted at ridiculous prices.鈥�
鈥淓veryone here understands that if we can鈥檛 get our resources to market, then we don鈥檛 work, period. This province is rich in natural resources. Our ability to mass produce their resources is the backbone of our province. When these resources cannot get to the people or country that need them, the factories cannot simply turn off or on a switch. It doesn鈥檛 work that way, depending on the day鈥檚 market. We need a smooth, reliable, and above all else, a safe way to move our resources. We Canadians, whether we like it or not, have bought a pipeline. Now it鈥� s time for the federal government to build it,鈥� he said. 聽
Steelworkers
Mike Day, president of United Steelworkers Local 5890 (EVRAZ), said, 鈥淲e represent 1,100 workers out at EVRAZ. That鈥檚 1,100 direct jobs to this economy. We make this pipe. Four times that is the indirect jobs, that鈥檚 5,000 jobs, strictly from the workers at EVRAZ. Built that pipe! We鈥檙e making that Trans Mountain, let鈥檚 get it done! Let鈥� get it in the ground! Let鈥檚 get Energy East going. You鈥檝e got both sides of the fence. You鈥檝e got the NDP here. You鈥檝e got the Sask Party here. It鈥檚 great to see everybody fighting for the same thing.鈥�
Counter protest
One singular woman staged a counter protest. Identified by the LeaderPost as Pamela Blondeau, 鈥渁 Regina resident from the Pasqua and Muskowekwan聽First Nations,鈥� the woman bellowed at the top of her lungs throughout almost every speech, at times drowning out the four public address speakers in place. She crowded the personal space of the speakers at the podium, including the premier, carrying her red flag as she went. She even crossed briefly in front of the podium at one point, screaming, 鈥淧igs!鈥� into the microphone, gaining more courage even as her screams were ignored.
Bernard the Roughneck
It was a bit too much for Benard Hancock, as service rig roughneck who has come to be known as 鈥淏ernard the Roughneck.鈥� He drove down from Grande Prairie, Alta., to speak at the event, as he as addressed the press on Parliament Hill in the past.
Hancock just couldn鈥檛 ignore her, saying, 鈥淢embers of the media, I really want you to turn your cameras to the people who are protesting here today. This is the face of people who are against our oil and gas industry. I want you to see that, because I want the people at home to see how ridiculous those people are. I was trying to talk with that lady there, and she said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 eff-ing care about your job.鈥� That鈥檚 what she just said to all you people here today. What do you think about that?鈥�
Saying he supported her right to express herself, Hancock went on, noting, 鈥淭his is why we can鈥檛 have an educated conversation about this. Because every time, only the most extreme elements of the conversation get included.鈥�
Exasperated at the woman as she was screaming at the top of her lungs, just a few metres behind him, Hancock said, 鈥淚 just came from Grande Prairie. My friend has had seven days of work in the last six weeks. And this is what we need to deal with.
鈥淭his is the face of people who are opposed to pipelines.鈥�
Hancock led the group into a chant of 鈥淏uild that pipe!鈥�
鈥淲e need to be able to speak to eastern Canadians and convince them on this issue. And a lot of the problems that we can鈥檛 get our pipelines built to the east, is political. But the answer is not political. The answer starts with every one of you here today, to be literate on these issues, to speak around, to your families, about why this issue is so important, and to always hold yourself with integrity and respect when you talk about these issues. Never act like that,鈥� he said, referring to the woman screaming at him from just behind his left shoulder. 鈥淧eople shut you off, and people in Toronto and Quebec are not going to listen to you.鈥�
NDP statement
While there were NDP 小蓝视频s present, none took the podium.
In an emailed statement, NDP Leader Ryan Meili said, "We were invited to join the rally by steelworkers and wanted to show solidarity with them and all the workers that are concerned about jobs in their industries.We wantto ensure access to markets for Saskatchewan resources because it鈥檚 vital to the province鈥檚 economy. It was disconcerting to see the Sask. Party attempt to use this to pretend they are concerned for workers when their own actions, such as increasing the PST on construction labour and restaurant meals, refusing to increase the minimum wage and implementing policies that make it harder for workers to organize have made life harder for Saskatchewan families.鈥�
