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Pro-oil and gas rally looks to inform community

Pro-energy sector rally aims to inform the community and give their voices an avenue to be heard on the oil and gas industry.

The Support Canadian Oil and Gas Industry Lloydminster Rally will begin tonight at 6 p.m. at the Alberta Building at the Lloydminster Exhibition.

Lloydminster business owner and Co-organizer Marc Ouellette approached many local businesses in the last couple weeks finding that more resident sought out information on the oil and gas industry.

“The more we inform the people the more they can inform their families that are indirectly affected by what’s going on here in Lloydminster.”

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Speakers in attendance at the event include Mayor Gerald Aalbers, James Robson from Canada Action, Onion Lake Chief Henry Lewis, Bernard Hancock known as “Bernard the Roughneck” and Robbie Picard from the Oil Sands Strong movement.

Any signs brought to the event are asked to be kept PG, the event points out that they’re not a yellow vest affiliate. Organizers say it’s because the movement’s focus is so diverse compared to the rally’s purpose. The high visibility vests are asked to be left at home for the rally.

Production technology and rally co-organizer Candace Nutbrown says a letter she wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau looking to suspended Bill C-69 helped spark the idea to bring the rally to Lloydminster. Nutbrown adds that the Lloydminster rally resembles the December 2018 Grande Prairie, oil and gas rally, which Nutbrown helped organize.

“Dan Echino with Calroc picked up on it,  had everyone in their office sign it, email to me and thanked me for my time to write it. He said we should do something similar in Lloydminster, and he gave us some financial support to get started and here we are today.”

Nutbrown adds that she invited to Ottawa by Grande Prairie MP Chris Warkentin to present all of the letters she has collected on behalf of Albertans. She says if bill C-69 goes through she believes it will cripple the economy. Copies of the letter will be available to sign at the rally.

“If they started putting shovels in the ground and got the [Trans-mountain pipeline] built it would bring a lot of confirmation back into the oil and gas industry, and we would be more comfortable spending capital on getting oil and gas wells online, and drilling new wells.”

Nutbrown, a former Lloydminster resident, says the knowledge she has working in the heavy oil industry mixed with people around her affected by state the oil and gas industry is the reason why she is taking a stand.

“Any downturn in the economy the first is the heavy oil industry primarily Lloydminster, Bonnyville and the cold lake area. These last couple of years I’ve seen friends and families suffer from this downturn in the economy and it’s time to stand up and stand for our livelihood.”

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