‘Additional resources’ tapped by RCMP in case towing or arrests needed at Alberta border crossing | CBC News

Since Saturday afternoon, motorists travelling to and from the United States have been caught in a large blockade of vehicles that choked off the highway from south of Lethbridge to the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts.

The demonstration is tied to an ongoing, nationwide protest over federal rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Canadian truckers entering Canada from the U.S., which took effect earlier this month.

It mandates that truckers who are not fully vaccinated must get a PCR test and quarantine.

The United States implemented a similar mandate on Jan. 22 requiring that all U.S.-bound travellers — including truckers — show proof they’ve had the required shots.

“We have brought in additional resources from all over Alberta to come here, to be prepared in the event that it does come to, you know, arrests and tow trucks and all that,” Peters said. 

“We’ll use them if we need to.”

‘We’ve had no violence’

The blockade is made up of both commercial and passenger vehicles that are positioned on Highway 4 to the village of Coutts, Peters said.

It has clogged the border crossing that is an entry point for a wide variety of goods, from foodstuffs to animal feed to farm equipment, and left some truckers stranded in the traffic gridlock.

On Monday, RCMP were able to free 40 or 50 vehicles that Peters described as “victims kind of caught in the mix of this.”

“That was one of the objective objectives for yesterday, to get them freed,” Peters said.

WATCH | Anti-vaccine mandate convoy blocks Alberta border crossing:

Anti-vaccine mandate convoy blocks Alberta border crossing

An anti-vaccine mandate convoy has blocked the U.S.-Canada border crossing in Coutts, Alta., for several days, saying they won’t budge until the government overturns a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truck drivers. 1:56

As the situation drags on, and at a standstill, Peters said that safety of persons — including police, those living in the community of Coutts and the media — is the first priority for RCMP.

“Everybody has a voice here. The protesters want to be heard, they have a voice,” Peters said.

“I think they’ve been heard now. They’ve made their point. I think it’s time for things to move on. But … thus far we’ve had no violence, and [we’d] like to keep it that way.”

UCP says enforcement up to law enforcement, feds

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney called for the protest to end on Sunday, saying it is causing “significant inconvenience for lawful motorists.”

The blockade violates the Alberta Traffic Safety Act, Kenney said, and he also cited the Critical Infrastructure Defence Act as being among the tools available to the police and prosecutors.

But Kenney has said it’s up to local authorities to enforce provincial legislation, which allows for additional penalties against protesters blockading highways and other infrastructure.

In a statement posted to social media on Monday, the UCP’s acting Justice Minister Sonya Savage wrote that questions about the Coutts border blockade are best answered by RCMP and local law enforcement.

“Operational enforcement decisions are the responsibility of police services, and enforcement at the border crossing itself is in part a federal responsibility,” Savage’s tweets read in part.