The rally comes on the heels of similar protests led by DJ Benita Pedersen in her home community of Westlock and also in Athabasca and Barrhead in recent weeks. Pedersen has already racked up $6,000 in fines for breaching 73 (1) of the provincial Public Health Act in relation to holding mass gatherings. Bonnyville RCMP also issued her a $1,200 ticket for Sunday’s protest.
Pedersen told Lakeland Today on Friday the upcoming rally in Bonnyville would likely be the “biggest community event they’ve seen for a while due to lockdown measures” – something she said was needed to address the “trauma and suffering” she’s seeing in her own community and beyond.
“There was a day I woke up and said enough is enough. The collateral damage of these lockdown measures have done far more damage than the virus,” Pedersen maintained. “My standpoint is our world is upside down right now. When they’ve been releasing pedophiles and imprisoning pastors, there’s something wrong with the system and it is up to we, the people, to stand up, step up, stand together, band together and make it right.”
During Sunday’s rally Pedersen encouraged protestors to put their names to a petition calling upon the Government of Canada to end pandemic lockdowns and reopen the economy.
“Paycheques feed families, working citizens’ paycheques not government aid cheques feed families and lead to a prosperous future for all Canadians,” Pedersen said, reading from the petition. “Current restrictions and lockdowns are applied and enforced without due regard to scientific evidence.”
Pedersen claimed all levels of government and the media have “exaggerated the severity of the virus” and have made a “big fuss about it when really when we look at the big pictures some of those people would have died anyway.”
Pedersen has little regard for news media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Can we agree, we struggle now to trust mainstream media," Pedersen asked and then directed her comments specifically to the news media in attendance.
“I have an expectation from you, that from this point going forward, you will present the truth. I can forgive you for what you’ve done thus far . . . I expect that our journalists will present the truth and not some skewed version of it.”
Speaking in support of the rally, Pastor Trevor Schaffrick of the Bonnyville Fellowship Alliance Church said he wanted to be a voice for the voiceless, especially those he said are starving as a result of lockdowns in third world countries and also for seniors – many of whom he believes would prefer to take their chances with the virus over isolating from family and friends.
“We have been given many good reasons to be angry in the midst of all of this. And frankly I’ve had many bouts of anger,” Schaffrick said to the protestors. “There is a perception circulating that says that anyone who would stand against the order, anyone who would protest is just an angry redneck who is trying to defend their rights to go to the local coffee shop or something like that. They want to brand us as people that are just hung up on ourselves.”
He said he believes local peaceful demonstrations against government pandemic policy can spur change.
“Governments are a little bit like teenagers, peer pressure can go a long way. You see one province act in a certain capacity, there is pressure on every other province to do likewise and that can work for us and that can work against us. I’m glad we’re doing these rallies. I’m glad that they are going on because I think, eventually, we can part of a movement to see those houses of cards fall down.”
Bonnyville Mayor Gene Sobolewski said Friday he had heard about the upcoming Sunday protest but would not comment about it being held in Bonnyville other than to say, “It’s a private matter and, in terms of crowd management, I leave it up to the RCMP. People are free to rally however they choose and I’m not going be attending the rally.”
Bonnyville RCMP Sgt. Kim Hillier confirmed Monday morning that RCMP experienced no issues with the protestors Sunday other than to ticket the organizer as expected for breaching the public health order against mass gatherings.
On Friday, leading up to the rally, Hillier said, “We definitely have augmented our number of members available for that day. We are respecting their right to rally and protest what they feel is unjust or overly restrictive. However, we do to also enforce the Alberta Health orders. We won’t be running into there to break it up or send people home, but the organizer will likely be subject to a violation ticket.”
