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‘I was not at the border blockade ... I did not support it or encourage it’

ELIZABETH SMITH MCCROSSIN Elizabeth Smith-mccrossin is an independent candidate for the riding of Cumberland North

I’d like to set the record straight regarding the separate Highway 104 protests that took place on June 22 and June 23. They have been incorrectly reported on as recently as in the July 21 edition of The Chronicle Herald.

It is false for The Chronicle Herald to report that I worked for and supported “a blockade of the Nova Scotia-new Brunswick border.”

Here is a timeline of what happened.

On June 22, at 2:55 p.m., as the MLA for Cumberland North, I took a stand for the people I represent and did a Facebook live video telling the premier about a highway protest that was going to take place, but not at the Nova Scotia/new Brunswick border.

I believed he should know what was going to happen and give him a chance to make it right. I was angry when I did the video. I was indignant for the people who had been affected by the government’s lack of co-operation with New Brunswick and over sudden, last-minute decisions. My frustration was a pure reflection of the people of my border community.

I made a decision to stand with the people I represent and I have no regrets.

I then went to a protest which was forming at Exit 7 on Highway 104. This protest was held at Thomson Station, 35 minutes away from Nova Scotia/new Brunswick border.

RCMP were on site and I stayed in constant communication with them.

An RCMP officer clearly told me that this was a legal, peaceful protest and that they would not shut it down; they were there to ensure public safety.

A large number of people showed up to protest. A lot of families, including grandparents and children.

What an education they got that day. The right to peaceful protest is part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It was even attended by a veteran, Lorne Baird, whom we honoured by clapping after he shared his thoughts at the protest.

Protesters did allow vehicles that had children in them or anyone with medical needs through. The RCMP also rerouted traffic around Exit 7.

During the protest, I called Premier Iain Rankin several times and he refused to respond.

As time went on, it became evident that he was not going to listen to the needs of our people.

The RCMP and I spoke and I asked the crowd if they would end the protest Tuesday evening. I gave them a commitment that I would travel to Halifax in the morning and request an urgent meeting with the premier on their behalf. Almost all people agreed and dispersed. A few people remained and kept one side of the highway closed. The RCMP stayed with them as I left.

Several media outlets were on site that Tuesday at Exit 7 and recorded my speech asking people to disperse for safety.

The next morning, on June 23, I got up at 5:30 a.m. and travelled to Halifax.

I heard that there was another group protesting at the Nova Scotia/new Brunswick border and the highway was closed. The group leading this closure had been at the Tuesday protest. They also had been meeting every Sunday for eight weeks leading up to June 23, at the border protesting and had closed down the highway on at least one occasion.

Wednesday morning, I arrived at One Government Place in Halifax around 8 a.m. and was told by the commissionaires that I was not allowed entry into the building. This was shocking, because MLAS normally enter this building to have access to the Speaker’s Office, Protocol Office and Premier’s Office. I waited outside the building hoping for an appointment. I soon found out that the premier had left and was in Chester campaigning. While protesters had the Nova Scotia/new Brunswick border blocked, the premier was ignoring this situation.

I waited all day Wednesday outside the building for a meeting. The minister of health did call me and asked me to call off the protesters, and I explained to him the protesters were there of their own free will, and not at my behest. I had called on the protesters twice earlier in the day to open the highway and even spoke with some on the phone, with the RCMP asking for them to open the Trans-Canada Highway, and they refused.

Instead of meeting with me or joining with me to ask the protesters to stand down, Premier Rankin decided to call me reckless. Of note, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs called the protesters and his office kept the lines of communication open with me. Additional protesters from outside of Cumberland County joined the blockade.

I was not at the Nova Scotia/new Brunswick border blockade. I did not support it or encourage it and it is false for anyone to say otherwise. The only highway protest I was involved in was a legal, peaceful protest at Exit 7 on that Tuesday, 30 minutes removed from the Nova Scotia/ New Brunswick border.

Leadership involves listening to the people and seeking to understand the underlying problems. That’s what I did at the legal, peaceful protest on Tuesday, June 22, and any statement that I supported a border blockade on Wednesday, June 23, is false.

OPINION

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2021-07-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://saltwire.pressreader.com/article/282162179241434

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