Re: Protest

by Jeremiah Sat 02 Feb 2019, 8:58 pm

Anti-immigration 'yellow vests' staging Burnaby rally, candidate running in byelection

Chris Campbell / Burnaby Now
FEBRUARY 1, 2019

Members of Yellow Vest Canada protest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit to Kamloops last week.
Photograph By TEREZA VERENCA, KAMLOOPS MATTERS PHOTO

It is with great sadness that I report the yellow vests are not only coming to Burnaby on Saturday, but they are running a candidate in Burnaby South.

The National Citizens Alliance sent out a news release this morning that said a rally will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Burnaby City Hall. I reached out to the city to see if this group is actually allowed on city hall grounds for a political rally and they are. The city actually has a policy on this and have reminded the group to follow the guidelines, in case anyone was wondering.

The news release says this “meet and greet” is in “solidary” with “yellow vests, patriots worldwide against the United Nations and GLOBAL World Order and in support Canadian sovereignty.”

If you don’t know anything about the yellow vests, the use of the phrase “GLOBAL World Order” should be the first tip-off. They give this title capital letters as though it’s a real thing, instead of a disturbing conspiracy theory.

The yellow vests are controversial to say the least due to their opposition to immigration (they claim they for “legal immigration” but take a look at their Facebook page and you’ll see different) and the violent threats some members have made against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They are not affiliated at all with the movement in France.

The National Citizens Alliance says it’s an “officially registered federal political party” and that it has a candidate, Zachary Johnson, for the Burnaby South byelection who will be at the rally.

I will state here that the yellow vests have tried to say it’s just a “few bad apples” but when you scroll through their Facebook page – as I did on Friday - it’s full of threats and virulent name-calling and racism, especially against refugees. I’ve included screenshots of comments against Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, plus someone calling for people to take up arms - a clear threat. I would have spent longer on this page, but it made me want to vomit.

I should have worn a Hazmat suit.

I know some media commentators have said these are just citizens who feel left out of the political process, but that’s what the Trump apologists said about his supporters and I’m so over that garbage.

If their leadership does have legitimate gripes with Trudeau, it's long been drowned out by virulent threats of violence from its membership.

https://www.burnabynow.com/opinion/blogs/anti-immigration-yellow-vests-staging-burnaby-rally-candidate-running-in-byelection-1.23620187

by Thunder Sat 09 Feb 2019, 7:30 pm

Yellow vest protesters speak out in Sarnia

Paul Morden - Published on: February 9, 2019

Protesters carrying signs and wearing yellow safety vests gather Saturday morning on the sidewalk in front of Sarnia City Hall in opposition to Canada's current federal government.

A Canadian take on France’s yellow vest protest movement has reached Sarnia.

A group of more than half a dozen men and women holding signs and wearing yellow safety vests gathered Saturday on the sidewalk outside Sarnia City Hall.

“We’ve just been following this yellow vest movement that started in France and came to Canada,” said Brittany Studzinsky, a member of the group with a Facebook page titled Yellow Vests Canada official Sarnia-Lambton County Chapter.

“We’re frustrated with the government that we have,” she said.

“There’s no accountability.”

Saturday demonstrations at Sarnia City Hall have run from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., beginning five weeks ago. The turnout has climbed to more than 20 people a few times, Studzinsky said.

“It depends on the weather, you know,” said Randy Coleman, who held a sign that said, “Trudeau does not speak for me.”

The yellow vest movement in France started last November with a protest against a fuel tax and mushroomed into a more general protest against the heavy tax burden imposed on the middle class.

Since then, protesters wearing yellow vests have turned up in communities across Canada, often expressing opposition to the Trudeau government.

The Sarnia and Lambton County group plans to continue its weekly protests “until the election, or until he’s out of office,” Coleman said.

“We’re displeased with our government, we really are.”

Studzinsky said group members support the building of a new pipeline to carry oil from Western Canada to the Pacific coast, and oppose the carbon tax.
They’re also critical of the current national government’s approach to immigration and its endorsement of a UN immigration pact.

“We’re not racists,” Studzinsky said. “We love immigration but done the legal way and the proper way, and in a way that our economy can handle it.”

Studzinsky said they also don’t like the way the national government treats military veterans, or its pledge to provide financial help for news outlets.

Studzinsky said they’ve received supportive waves and honks from some vehicles passing by City Hall, as well as “some middle fingers from people who don’t agree with us.”

Coleman said the Sarnia demonstrations are peaceful.

“We’re trying to wake people up and look at the politics a little bit, and see what’s going on,” he said.

With files from The Canadian Press

https://www.theobserver.ca/news/local-news/yellow-vest-protesters-speak-out-in-sarnia