All fired up for freedom

On Saturday, the corner area of the Whitecourt IGA parking lot was packed for an afternoon rally. By the time things got going, a large crowd had gathered in front of a trailer stage below a massive sign held up by a boom lift. Canada flags and Alberta flags danced in the breeze below the “All Fired Up For Freedom” banner, and many attendees held signs or draped themselves with flags. Organized by Benita Pedersen, the event featured several speakers.

Gail Prince, a teacher for over twenty years, said that for her, it isn’t about left or right, or Liberal and NDP versus Conservative. “It is about right versus wrong, ethical versus unethical and freedom of choice versus coercion. A choice would’ve been, get the shot or don’t. Just like the flu shot, you either get it or you don’t. I haven’t had one of those either, and I was never threatened or punished for it. That would’ve been coercion, and make no mistake, that is what is happening right now.”

Prince quoted Prime Minister Trudeau’s words from September 2021, where he spoke about those who are unvaccinated. “On live TV, he said that we all know people who are a little bit hesitant and that we will continue to try and convince them. That is wrong! No means no! His so-called convincing tactics involve threats and intimidating behaviour that put many in immediate fear of the consequences. The result was many who acted against their will because of fear, which is the true definition of coercion,” spoke Prince.

She spoke of a friend who recently had to drive from Alberta to Newfoundland through winter weather to visit their sick parent who wasn’t doing well. “What took almost seven days to do so would’ve only taken seven hours on a plane, but he was not allowed because of his personal choice. If you don’t get the shot, you are not allowed to board a plane to fly within or outside of Canada.”

She then spoke of another friend who only received her shots so that she could visit her aging mother in residence because without the shots, she would not have been allowed to see her. “Does that sound like a choice to you?” she asked. The crowd resoundingly replied, “no.”

Prince quoted the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a document she said she taught her students often over her years as a teacher. “Every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in, and leave Canada. Every citizen of Canada and every person who has the status of a permanent resident of Canada has the right to move and take up residence in any province and to pursue the gaining of a livelihood in any province.”

Prince said she felt like an outcast over the last two years, and as she spoke, heads nodded in the crowd in front of her. “I have lost family and friends over my beliefs. I’ve been laughed at, referred to as selfish, ignored and at times isolated. It’s hard to try and explain the emotional toll that this has taken on so many who have stood their ground and did what we felt was right for our bodies.”

Prince ended her speech by quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”

The topics raised by speakers went from pandemic restrictions, effects on small businesses and individuals, broken freedoms, digital id, and overall government distrust. Sue Christensen spoke of being tired of seeing the government handcuff Alberta. “Alberta is a province rich in resources, fossil fuels, forests, and agricultural land. Why don’t we have the best healthcare in the world? Why aren’t we allowed to have alternative healthcare options paid for in the same way that big pharma options are paid for? Why are some kids graduating high school unable to read and write? Why don’t our seniors have better options for living out the last years of their life? Why are our roads falling apart? Because we have allowed it to happen. While we have been busy juggling the many aspects of our lives to maintain the lifestyles we are accustomed to, we have not been paying attention to what’s going on around us. We have been led to believe that politicians will solve our problems when they cause the problems in the first place.”

The main speaker for the event was The Real Chris Sky, motivational speaker and founder of the non-profit organization Back to Work. Since he began speaking out on human rights and freedoms, he has been de-platformed by several social media platforms and has been arrested twenty times for participating in protests. He is also on a country-wide no-fly list.

“I just got arrested on Saturday in Calgary for allegedly speaking a few words through a megaphone because they have a court injunction that said protesting was now basically illegal in all of Calgary. You couldn’t honk. You couldn’t march. You couldn’t use any amplified speaking device. They based it on the same premise that they used to go after the protesters in Ottawa, but this was for a protest that happens on a Saturday, once a week, for a few hours with a few thousand people that disperse completely peaceful,” he explained.

Sky said that he is asked why he continues to fight even though restrictions have dropped or are being dropped across Canada. He noted that several provinces, including BC, are still locked up. “Have you tried to leave the country by car, or by boat, or by air? You can’t (if unvaccinated). You can’t even leave your province unless you drive, and that’s only if you can afford the gas now, and it’s not because of Vladimir Putin. We are trapped here, and millions of people lost their jobs.”

On the convoy to Ottawa, Sky said one of the most significant victories from it was getting the international community’s attention. “Even they are calling Trudeau a dictator. Even they are walking out on him and telling him he is ridiculous. That’s what we needed because we needed the world to know what’s going on.” Sky was referring to the Prime Minister’s recent visit to the European Parliament. Several members scolded him for his handling of the convoy calling him a disgrace and likening his methods to that of a dictatorship.

Sky implored attendees to remember his catchphrase; Just Say No. “When you are just saying no out of love for your friends and family and children and country, there is nothing more pure and more powerful, and it is contagious! It reverberates around the world. You saw what we did with the trucker convoy, and we just need to keep that momentum going. We are focused and moving forward with the intentions of getting our freedoms back and putting legislation in place that prevents this type of thing from ever happening again.”

Sky said that the one duty of adults, whether they have children or not, is to leave this earth and this country “in a better position for the next generation to succeed and thrive.” He said that’s what freedom really means.