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After kicking off his town hall meeting tour on a fiery note, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s second stop brought him to the University of Regina Thursday night, where he was met with equally as passionate protesters.
Ahead of the Q and A, Trudeau was greeted by a honking Yellow Vest Canada truck convoy, which circled the perimeter of the campus.
About 100 vehicles — mostly trucks and semis — full of #YellowVestCanada protesters are circling around the University of Regina right now ahead of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s town hall tonight. #yqr #sask #sk pic.twitter.com/PNUSxnPrZl
— Jessie Anton (@jessieanton_) January 11, 2019
Inside the university, the prime minister faced questions ranging from immigration to the real estate market — to top issues in Saskatchewan, like the carbon tax and pipelines.
Jason LeBlanc, an Estevan farmer who supports the Yellow Vest movement protesting outside, asked why the government is charging a carbon tax on climate change when he feels “it’s not proven.”
Trudeau responded by stating that climate change is real and Canada needs to do something to fight it, while growing the economy and supporting regular people.
“By putting a price on pollution, we incentivize people to pollute less. It is basic economics; if you want less of something, put a price on it,” Trudeau said. “We want less pollution — we need less pollution, so we’ll put a price on it.”
The prime minister went on to say average Saskatchewan families will be better off, putting more money back in their pockets. He added that people living outside major cities will get a 10 per cent top up because the government recognizes extra costs to rural communities.
“Farm diesel and farm gasoline is not subject to the price on pollution. We are working to make sure that as we move towards an economy and a world with less pollution, we support regular people through that change,” Trudeau explained.
Man questions the #carbontax. Trudeau starts off by saying climate change is real, says it’s about fighting climate change and growing our economy. Here’s part of his answer on how he says it’ll benefit Saskatchewanians. #yqr #sk #sask pic.twitter.com/gZ0eYLZBlh
— Jessie Anton (@jessieanton_) January 11, 2019
Wearing an “I love pipelines” T-shirt, Evraz steelworker Courtland Klein asked the prime minister why his government agreed to sign on to the new NAFTA — or USMCA — trade deal, considering the steel and aluminum tariffs being slapped on by the United States.
Klein argued Canada should have walked away, but Trudeau maintained that wasn’t an option.
“I know here that steel and aluminum are extraordinarily important, but so are agricultural exports, so are the billions of dollars worth of trade that every part of the country does with the United States — our most important market every single day,” the prime minister said.
Afterwards, Klein said he didn’t find Trudeau’s response comforting.
“These things can negatively affect my employment as a worker. I’ve got lots of friends and family that work (in the oil field) and we’re scared that we’re going to start losing our jobs,” he explained.
Klein went on to question the prime minister on spending $4.5 billion of taxpayer dollars to buy the TransMountain Pipeline.
Trudeau said the government is confident that pipeline already makes money every single month and it is going to be very valuable when it is complete. While he admitted it was nowhere in his election platform that he was going to buy a pipeline for Canadians, he maintained the move does fit in with his promise to grow the economy and protect the environment in responsible ways.
“The twinning of an existing pipeline to a well-serviced marine area in the port of Vancouver – which also involves us investing massively in oceans protection, and moving forward in partnership as much as possible with Indigenous people – is to my mind, the way to get projects built,” Trudeau explained.
Same man asks why Trudeau gov’t bought the Trans Mountain pipeline. Here’s part of Trudeau’s response. pic.twitter.com/v4JorJtKBS
— Jessie Anton (@jessieanton_) January 11, 2019
While defending his government’s choice to buy the controversial pipeline last year, Trudeau was interrupted by an anti-pipeline protester. She was holding a banner that appeared to be connected with the 14 people arrested Wednesday at an Indigenous blockade in northern B.C.
Anti-pipeline protester stands up during Trudeau’s reply re: Trans Mountain. It appears it’s in solidarity with the 14 people arrested yesterday at an Indigenous blockade in northern B.C. pic.twitter.com/9nnEIVrmhX
— Jessie Anton (@jessieanton_) January 11, 2019
Before leaving Regina Friday, Trudeau has two things on his itinerary: a roundtable discussion regarding fresh water management and an announcement about geothermal energy development.