Some Foothills residents are wearing yellow on Saturday mornings to raise awareness about the struggling Alberta economy.
There were five people standing in front of Okotoks town office at 11 a.m. on Jan. 5, carrying signs with messages such as “Jobs, Pipelines Yes! Carbon Tax No!!!”
“We started about a month ago and we’ve had as much as 14 people out here,” said spokesperson Roland Smith. “We have noticed the horns (blaring) and they understand what we are doing — we just need to get more people involved.”
The Okotoks yellow vest campaign comes on the heels of a similar mid December protest in Calgary about the lack of movement regarding pipelines at both the provincial and federal levels. Carbon tax was also an issue with those protesting.
Smith, who was at the Calgary rally, said he plans to be protesting every Saturday until at least the provincial election, which could be as late as May.
He knows first hand the impact of the drop in the Alberta economy.
“The economy has crashed all over — it cycles right down to us all,” said Smith, who owns Okotoks Glass. “We are down 50 per cent the last four years. This year, 28 per cent down, and we’ve been here a lot of years.
“We’re staying alive right now… Small business guys are being driven down and we are the ones who support maybe six or seven families… We [small businesses] are flat-out stretched.”
His grandson, Trevor, Baxter, joined Smith at the Okotoks rally..
“He wants to take over my business someday,” Smith said. “Right now, it’s not looking good to do that and that’s sad.”
He said change is needed both the provincial and the federal level. The yellow-vest campaign started in France over protest about skyrocketing fuel costs.
