Alberta Roundup: Coutts, Milk River & Kenney’s big announcement

While the freedom convoy protests continue in Ottawa, there is no shortage of headlines regarding huge blockades and policy updates taking place in the western province of Alberta.

  • Rebel News
  • February 09, 2022
Alberta Roundup: Coutts, Milk River & Kenney’s big announcement
The Canadian Press / Jeff McIntosh
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It can be tough to keep up with the plethora of related headlines and announcements as the days and weeks of the great Canadian freedom convoy roll by! Rebel continues to have reporters in locations countrywide, including in the rural regions of Coutts and Milk River, Alberta where reporters Kian Simone, Syd Fizzard and Adam Soos are currently embedded in the action there.

If you’re unfamiliar with the situation there, this Rebel report provides a good summary up to this point.

Last weekend, the Coutts border crossing tracked 10,000 truckers!

On Monday, farmers with massive pieces of heavy farm equipment joined the demonstration, while another protest popped up at a checkpoint in Milk River.

Late into the evening on Monday, Without Papers Pizza reported on Twitter that the RCMP had blockaded protesters.

This continued into the afternoon on Tuesday.

At that time, the truckers were quite concerned about a potential announcement from the police of a possible injunction from the provincial government; however, that did not end up happening.

This all happened just before Premier Jason Kenney made his big announcement about upcoming COVID-19 policy changes, which was huge news in Alberta. The truckers anxiously awaited the live press conference inside.

In a nutshell, Kenney announced that he would follow a three-step plan to remove public health restrictions, starting with the Restriction Exemption Program which would be removed as of midnight Tuesday.

How did the Coutts truckers receive this news? Well, they essentially said it wasn’t good enough; they want ALL mandates gone.

As a side note, one of the elements of Kenney’s speech was that he believes “it’s quite likely that for the rest of our lives we’re probably going to need to take an annual COVID shot much like the annual flu shot.” It was not made clear whether the premier planned to mandate such a shot.

Just before 8:30 p.m., the RCMP Alberta Twitter account posted that the north and southbound lanes to the Coutts border crossing were closed due to the protesters.

Since the truckers held their ground, the RCMP moved in with helicopters on scene mid-evening, surrounding the truckers.

So, more farmers showed up.

Despite the tensions with the RCMP and politicians, especially Kenney, there are some politicians stepping up in solidarity with the protesters. One such politician is Coutts-area MLA Grant Hunter, who is part of Premier Kenney’s UCP caucus.

He described the Freedom Convoy and related protests as an 'inspiration to the world' to fight for freedoms, noting that it is growing quickly and politicians will have to “get on board.”

Alberta will continue to be a place to watch in the coming days and weeks, as the protests at and near the border grow, and as we see various political dynamics at play, such as municipal leaders, including the recently-elected Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek who posted a long thread this morning about her concerns with Kenney’s removal of restrictions.

Rebel News will continue to be there for breaking news as it happens, to provide fair coverage and the other side of the story.

Also remember to tune in to some of the great coverage our journalists are getting from media elsewhere in the world, in particular in the U.S., including Adam Soos recent appearance on the “Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show”.


Rebel News has three reporters in the area, including two embedded in the Coutts protest and another in Milk River. To support their independent journalism, please visit www.ConvoyReports.com.

A crowdfunded lawyer is assisting the blockaders in their negotiations with the police. To help pay his fees, please visit www.TruckerLawyer.ca.

Alberta Canada United States Montana Jason Kenney Alberta Truckers Trucker Defence Fund
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