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Yellow vest rally ups ante on carbon tax

The war against the carbon tax and support for the pipeline reached a new sense of urgency Saturday as a new group The Yellowvests Yorkton and Area held a public rally on Broadway Street.

The war against the carbon tax and support for the pipeline reached a new sense of urgency Saturday as a new group The Yellowvests Yorkton and Area held a public rally on Broadway Street.

Yorkton MLA Greg Ottenbreit was invited by the organizers to say a few words to his constituents.

“I appreciate what they’re doing,”  he said of the efforts of the organizers.

“The carbon tax won’t help the environment. Right now, we’re seeing Alberta and Saskatchewan oil -- fairly and ethically sourced oil -- being limited. Why are we importing ‘dirty oil’ from places that don’t care about the safety of their workers?”

The pipeline, the protest organizers say, are sorely needed.

“You know, people see that shiny $300 carbon tax credit, but what they don’t see is what it’s going to cost them in the long run,” said Randy Trost, RM of Orkney Reeve.

“That three hundred bucks is not that much. We have one rail right now to move a ton of product. It’s like trying to push it through a straw. -- it’s not enough. I want to see our people working. The pipeline will create jobs -- and lots of good people need jobs.”

Trost says the costs will just be pushed around.

“The Trudeau Government can’t hike GST by another 10 per cent so they’re doing that. We’ve got good products to move into markets that are struggling because of this. Everything we have will cost way too much; lettuce, fuel, everything.”

Neil Schuler, the organizer of the rally, is the leader of the Yellowvests Yorkton and Area. A father, long haul transport operator and oil rig veteran, said all he’s trying to do is get a voice at the table in Ottawa.

“We’re only doing this because we feel the Liberals aren’t listening to us,” Schuler said.

“This carbon tax, we’re the ones at the end of the street that are paying for it. We need to make our government accountable. We just want to be heard.”