Calgary, February 10: Dozens of police and many more protesters remained Thursday morning at a blockaded intersection in southern Alberta.
The group is at Highway 4 and Highway 501, south of Milk River, the site of a secondary trucker protest and north of the original protest site at the Coutts border crossing.
Both locations have seen intermittent blockades of the road, in solidarity with the trucker protests in Ottawa and other parts of the country.
With near 100 km/h winds howling, many protesters sat hunkered down in their vehicles while others gathered behind temporary walls built using rig mats.
Police officers maintained a roadblock at Milk River, preventing traffic from heading south to bolster the protest near the U.S. border.
It was a marked difference from Wednesday evening when RCMP descended on this site in a massive display of force, part of an effort to convince protesters to move to a new location off the highway.
Police described it as a “show of force, not a use of force,” and say they want protesters to know what they may be facing if they continue to refuse to leave the site of the illegal, roadside protest.
RCMP is asking protesters at the Highway 501 site to move to an area north of Milk River, off the highway, to allow traffic to flow. Otherwise the protesters will face enforcement, said Supt. Roberta McKale.
“Really, it’s going to be up to them,” she told reporters on Wednesday. “Up until this point it’s been us asking them and this afternoon we don’t have an option, we’re going to have to use our enforcement options to have that happen.”
RCMP have not said how many tickets were issued Wednesday. At least one person at the scene was arrested.
“This illegal protest has people that are up on the highway and anyone that is coming through could end up hurting one of the protesters if they are standing out in the road,” McKale told reporters on Wednesday.
“Our concern is obviously for the people that are here and the users of the road.”
While RCMP were able to speak with protesters Wednesday afternoon, many in the gathering were adamant against leaving the area.
“I’m not ready to take up the sword, but I’m ready to go to jail,” said protester Michael Spiers. “I think this is a pivotal point and if we don’t make our stand now we might not have another chance at freedom.”
