Story of the Year: Coutts blockade exposed deep divisions in Alberta

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on December 31, 2022.

Demonstrators against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate leave in a truck convoy after blocking the highway at the busy U.S. border crossing near Coutts on Tuesday, Feb. 15. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh Jeff McIntosh

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Because of the impact caused on both sides of the international border and across the province, the protest that had the Coutts border shut down back in February became our Story of the Year for 2022.

It all started on Jan. 29, when a truck convoy headed down to Coutts to protest the mandates that had been put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The problem began when the protest became a full-out blockade.

According to some accounts about the length of the convoy, at one point the head of the convoy was at New Dayton, while the vehicles following were still leaving Lethbridge.

The convoy arrived in Coutts to a throng of flag-waving supporters lining Highway 4 leading to the border as well as multiple motorists honking their horns in support.

Coutts mayor Jim Willett supported the right to protest until the truck convoy became a blockade.

“I’m not impressed with the total blockage,” said Willett.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said during that weekend that it is up to local authorities to enforce provincial legislation, which allows for additional penalties against protesters blockading highways and other infrastructure.

The law, passed by his United Conservative government last year, protects railways, highways and pipelines from anyone trespassing, interfering with operations and construction, or causing damage.

By Monday, Jan. 31, RCMP said the blockade was no longer lawful and resources were in place to make arrests and tow away vehicles if they were unable to resolve the conflict.

The next day, as teams of officers approached truck cabs, some drivers began slowly peeling off and heading away.

By this point reports were made about the blockade leaving truckers stranded in the U.S.

Following three days of the Canada-U.S. border being blockaded by protestors south of the city in Coutts, Lethbridge Mayor Blaine Hyggen issued a statement.

While supportive of the right of citizens to protest, Hyggen was firm in his conviction that unlawful blockades of area infrastructure must not be tolerated. The statement read in part:

“Please understand that I am in full support of peaceful protest and am proud to live in a democratic society where such demonstrations are allowed to take place without intervention. However, should there be a blocking of infrastructure or deliberate attempts to disrupt the public that could impact emergency services and/or any supply chains we require to make it through this pandemic, that form of protest should not be tolerated, and those involved should be held accountable.”

After four days, Chad Williamson, a lawyer representing the protesters, said they were opening one lane of Highway 4 in each direction.

“The truckers finally feel like their message has been heard,” Williamson said in an interview. “That doesn’t mean the protest is over, but it signals what we hope to be ongoing cordial efforts to address the concerns of the people who have been involved in the movement down here in Coutts.”

By Thursday trucks were able to cross the border, with some expressing relief after days of waiting.

That same day, NDP finance critic and MLA for Lethbridge-West Shannon Phillips joined CEO of Economic Development Lethbridge, Trevor Lewington, to discuss how southern Alberta has been impacted by the illegal blockade of the border crossing at Coutts.

“As a province we are an export-oriented economy, we export billions of dollars by truck to the United States every year, the majority of it through the Coutts border crossing,” said Phillips.

To provide some context on the matter Lewington said the blockade of the only 24/7 commercial land crossing in Alberta was a direct threat to the economic well-being of growers, producers, manufacturers, and many other businesses that rely on the movement of both raw materials in and finished goods out along the CANAMEX corridor.

He said the Lethbridge census metropolitan area or CMA, exported almost $1.4 billion worth of goods in 2020 with about 80 per cent of that estimated to move to or through the United States, and the vast majority of that moving through the Coutts-Sweetgrass border crossing.

Lewington said that meant for the city of Lethbridge alone roughly $3 million per day in economic impact, based on the road and rail traffic that must move through that port of entry.

“The impact is of course four or five times larger than that, if you consider the movement of other Alberta goods in and out through that same North-South corridor,” said Lewington.

Phillips said the official opposition has called on the government to seek a court injunction and give the RCMP every tool they need to clear the blockade at that point.

In a joint statement released Feb. 4, the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police and Alberta Sheriffs said police would take enforcement action if necessary.

“Public safety has been our priority, and it will continue to be as we move forward. If necessary, however, we will take enforcement actions at events like these, responding accordingly to the risks to public safety. Our services are working together, and sharing information and resources, just as we do each and every day. Albertans can feel confident that their respective police services will maintain peace and security across this province – together.”

After a week of blocking the Alberta-Montana border, clearing the blockade had proven difficult as it required specialized equipment and operators and area towing companies refused to assist, implying that doing so could damage their livelihood in the future.

RCMP deputy commissioner Curtis Zablocki said actions were being taken which included considering the safety of everyone.

“It’s our goal to ensure any actions are used to advance resolution, not to increase the volatility and potential for violence in Coutts or anywhere in the province,” said Zablocki.

Since the Coutts blockade started, police had worked to keep the border crossing open, he added. 
He said it had been accomplished without violence or a complete shutdown of the highway.

But at that point police had seen illegal and reckless activities at the blockades and were investigating.

By Feb. 10 the situation had escalated and Alberta RCMP officers were met with anger and chants of “Hell no, we won’t go”.

“We’re not going anywhere. There’s going to be more coming,” said Keith Alexander, who was among dozens of truck drivers and their supporters on the highway north of the Coutts crossing and near the town of Milk River.

At this point after agreeing to keep one lane of Highway 4 open in each direction, there had been multiple closures.

RCMP Supt. Roberta McKale said a field had been secured for protesters on the south edge of Milk River. But at this point fire pits had been set up that posed a risk, people were wandering onto the highway at night not wearing reflective equipment and some were playing ball hockey on the road.

“There are consequences for that. If it’s a ticket, it’s a ticket. People are coming here knowing this is illegal. That is a decision that they’re making,” said McKale.

Just a couple of days before, the Alberta government announced that it was scrapping its COVID-19 vaccine passport requirements and other public health measures, including a mask mandate, which was going to be lifted March 1.

But for many of the protesters, this wasn’t enough.

On Feb. 14 RCMP arrested 13 people after becoming aware of a cache of firearms and ammunition.

McKale said 11 of the arrests were made in a pre-dawn raid on three trailers in the Coutts area. She said officers seized 13 long guns, handguns, a machete, and a large quantity of ammunition and body armour.

Police had learned of the threat days earlier, she said.

“This was a complex, layered investigation.There certainly was a group that came in after the initial (protest) group arrived within days and this action began. It came to a point where for the safety of the members and for the safety of the public we certainly had to act and act quickly,” said McKale.

The next day on Feb. 15 after more than two weeks of blocking the Alberta-Montana border, trucks and other vehicles with horns blaring rolled away from the area after the arrests were made.

Charges laid included possession of weapons and mischief to property. Four people also face a charge of conspiracy to murder RCMP members.

Some of the accused were granted release shortly after but a judge ordered that they couldn’t contact one another or be within a 200-metre radius of any protest.

Charges of mischief to property and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose against three people arrested in connection to the protest in Coutts have been stayed by the Crown while similar charges against five other people are proceeding to trial next July.

Another accused has a one-day hearing set for January of next year and is scheduled for trial Feb. 16-17, 2023 on one charge of dangerous driving, stemming from an incident Feb. 1 when a pickup truck drove through the blockade and headed toward oncoming traffic before becoming involved in a head-on collision.

Four more accused face a charge of conspiracy to commit murder and are scheduled to stand trial June 12-30, 2023. The Crown elected to proceed by direct indictment, which bypasses a preliminary hearing, and all four men have been denied bail in Court of King’s Bench and remain in custody.

– with files from the Lethbridge Herald and The Canadian Press

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