Jason LeBlanc is grateful and overwhelmed for the support he has received, after he was called out in the Saskatchewan Legislature by Ryan Meili, the leader of the provincial New Democratic Party, last week.
Meili was addressing Premier Scott Moe about the Regina Rally Against the Carbon Tax during question period April 1, and wanted to know why Moe would appear at the rally. Then Meili pointed out that LeBlanc was one of the organizers.
Meili addressed comments that LeBlanc made during a speech at the United we Roll Convoy to Ottawa, particularly around climate change. But he also touched on comments LeBlanc made about a desire by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to have a one-world government.
Many viewed it as an attempt by Meili to link LeBlanc and the Regina Rally to the yellow vest movement, even though yellow vests were banned from the rally. Meili denies that was the case.
LeBlanc said he has been emotional about the support he received since April 1. He has received a lot of phone calls and messages from friends and strangers alike.
“It got to the point where I shut my phone off, because there was so much outcry, so many people upset, and I didn’t respond to it,” LeBlanc told the Mercury. “Everybody has the right in this country to voice their opinions, and to make their statements, and I guess I just had a target on my back for some reason.”
LeBlanc received a prolonged standing ovation from the crowd before he stood up to give his speech. And he received another ovation once he was finished. In both cases, the applause exceeded the cheers for Moe and other speakers.
He’s proud of the fact that the convoy and rally happened, and it broke records. He’s quick to point out that he was not the organizer for the event, and that a lot of people put in a lot of time to make it happen.
“I happened to get the limelight, although not the way I liked it,” he said.
LeBlanc was at the front of the convoy when it left Estevan, so he couldn’t tell just how many vehicles were participating, but he knows there was a long line that headed out onto the truck bypass from the east Estevan industrial area.
And he believes that Meili’s comments played a role in the number of people who participated in the convoy.
“It had to be a hell of a coincidence to have our numbers almost triple from Monday afternoon to Thursday morning,” said LeBlanc. “It was almost as soon as he got done his comments that the phone started ringing.”
LeBlanc said he was surprised when Meili singled him out in the legislature.
“It’s just one of those things that when a person doesn’t agree with their ideology, then they resort to labelling,” LeBlanc said.
Meili said he wasn’t trying to group in LeBlanc with the yellow vest movement, but he was concerned about LeBlanc’s comments about climate change. He believes people should be worried about the impacts of climate change.
“We felt that with that background around the rally, that was something that the premier needed to make clear what his position was on those issues, and make it clear as well to anyone who might be attending that those were the opinions of those who were organizing it,” said Meili.
He decided to single out LeBlanc because he was listed as a spokesperson, and had done interviews on the rally.
“I don’t know Mr. LeBlanc. There’s nothing personal against him, and certainly I was not intending to cause him any difficulty,” said Meili. “Just it was related to his public stance and public statements, and his role as a spokesperson and what that might say about who was at the rally.”
Meili said he couldn’t recall whether he has singled out a private citizen during question period during his two years as an MLA, or his year as the leader of the official opposition.
The NDP leader says that he made every effort in his comments to make the distinction that LeBlanc was not part of the Yellow Vests, but if that didn’t come across as clearly as he wanted, then he’s sorry.
And he’s upset that people have tried to make that connection in his statements.
“He sounds like a really great guy in a lot of ways,” said Meili. “Involved in his community. A farmer, a dad, an auctioneer. But we strongly disagree on this issue, and I think it’s a position when it comes to climate change that is really irresponsible, when you’re talking about an issue of this importance.”
Meili did not attend the rally, nor did any NDP MLAs. Meili said he had concerns with tweets from the official Twitter account for the rally, and the association with people who deny climate change.
