Souris Moose-Mountain MP Robert Kitchenjoined the Yellow Vest protesters, who once again gathered in front of the Estevan City Hall on Saturday.
“My purpose here is to congratulate them for showing their support and showing their commitment to what they want to see, which is great for Canada,” Kitchen said.
Estevanites and people from surrounding areas hit the streets every Saturday to demonstrate their displeasure with the carbon tax, which has come into effect as of Jan. 1, and other causes. Kitchen underlined why opposing the carbon tax is so crucial for Estevan.
“What people don’t understand when you lose 200 jobs in Ottawa, 200 jobs in Toronto or Montreal, these people can find jobs elsewhere. That’s not the case here, in southeast Saskatchewan,” Kitchen said.
One of the Yellow Vest protesters – Estevanian Bobby Kyle – will be joining the big pro-pipeline rally, heading to Ottawa on February 15. He explained why he decided to join Yellow Vests and the rally to the capital.
“I've put a good portion of my young adult life into the oilfield. And the carbon tax along with the shutdown of the energy sector from Ottawa … you know, all our money going out there, but none of that's coming back. It makes for a very hard life,” Kyle said.
Kyle also noted the impact of the energy industries on the southeast Saskatchewan.
“The oil and gas industry actually affect everybody else in this community, because all these little companies and businesses grow off of the money that’s brought into the community through oil, gas or through coal mines. The carbon tax is just taking money away from us. It’s not giving us any sense of direction from here. So where do we go? Where do our kids go from here? We need some answers,” Kyle said.
Prior to the pro-pipeline rally, Kyle plans to participate in a number of other protests in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The Yellow Vests Movement came to Estevan as of the middle of December, when over 50 people came out on the street to oppose taxes and other policies imposed upon them by the federal government.
