Hundreds gather in front of McDougall Centre for rally against NDP

You could cut through the vitriol and frustration, but it remained civil.

Hundreds of people, closer to 1,000 at the beginning, took part in a large demonstration in front of the McDougall Centre in downtown Calgary Saturday afternoon. They were there to protest Rachel Notley’s NDP government and its carbon tax as part of the Alberta Wide Rally Against the NDP, which took place in multiple areas across the province.

Organizer Dwayne Croteau said the carbon tax is being put forward without proper consultation, and those against it want to be heard.

“We’re opposed to the way in which they’re doing business and that is, ramming this carbon tax down our throat. They’re going to disrupt our society and the way that we work because they have some sort of ideology. We believe in democracy, and in a democracy this is what a citizen does. A citizen can ask for a petition, a citizen can raise a petition, get signatures on a petition to ask for a referendum on the subject of a carbon tax,” he said.

A petition was available for people to sign, and it will be brought to the legislature in a bid to force a referendum on the carbon tax. At least 1,000 people had signed it halfway through the rally.

Wildrose MLA for Calgary-Foothills, Prasad Panda, was also in attendance to show his support, but needed to be sure the demonstrators would stay calm.

“They had to do it in a democratic way and a peaceful way. So I am here to support them as long as their frustrations are channeled and expressed in a democratic way and a peaceful manner,” he said.

There was certainly a lot of anger in the crowd, with people holding homemade signs, including one depicting the carbon tax lynched on a pole and another comparing Alberta to communist Venezuela. Among them was Chris, who was carrying a placard saying “I didn’t vote for a dictator”.

“I think Notley is not consulting Albertans. I think she’s serving her own agenda, she’s not listening to industry,” he said.

Wayne, a videographer, said the NDP policies are causing massive job losses and as a result, he is in less demand in his profession now. He hopes more people will get behind the cause.

“If we can reach out to the other people in the province who may not realize how serious of an issue this is, then we can become more united against the NDP,” he said.

The main issue of the afternoon was the carbon tax, with many saying climate change is not a real issue, and the carbon tax is a manipulation of scientific method.

“When the only scientists that are allowed to speak are those that speak on behalf of the government or on behalf of environmental non-governmental organizations, there’s something seriously wrong there,” said Joseph, a research scientist and chemist.

“The misinformation, people rally around that,” Grant Gunnink added. “The average person doesn’t do anything, but this I think is more representative of the average person now stepping up and saying no more of this misinformation, here’s at least the truth from where we stand.”

It was difficult to find anyone who would admit to being an NDP voter who’d changed their mind in the last year. Most people either laughed or proclaimed they weren’t “idiots” or “brain-dead”, but one person in the crowd confessed to voting for the party.

“I did vote for Rachel Notley and the NDP in the previous election, and the reason I did was because of what I perceived as the corruption within the Conservative government,” said the voter, who asked to remain anonymous. “So while I voted on character, now I’m here because of policy. I’m very disappointed in the policies.”

She added, she has done a U-turn on the carbon tax.

“I have to tell you, once I’ve now been educated I see that there is no reason for this tax. I believe that it is tied to a global initiative of which we will not benefit as Canadians or Albertans.”

Numerous speakers also took the podium in front of the crowd, including representatives from Friends of Science. Some people driving by the park also honked their horns in support of the protestors. Opposition leader Brian Jean spoke at the rally in Edmonton.