VIMY NIGHT
ESTEVAN BRUINS
Legion honours long-serving members A3
Great season ends against Melfort A10
Issue 50
SERVING THE ENERGY CITY SINCE 1903
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
www.estevanmercury.ca
Mailing No. 10769 | Publication No. 40069240
Regina Rally Against the Carbon Tax By Brian Zinchuk brian.zinchuk@sasktel.net
At 6 a.m., they started to gather in the KRJ yards east of Estevan, one filling with heavy trucks, the second with a line of light vehicles. This was one of the principle gathering points for the convoy leading to the Regina Rally Against the Carbon Tax on April 4. The folks in Estevan couldn’t claim the earliest start time, however, as a group from Carnduff hit the road at 5:30, pulling into the KRJ yard to join the Estevan group an hour later. The day before, pressure washers could be seen and heard around Estevan as participants in the convoy washed their units to make them look sparkling. An overnight rain spoiled some of their efforts, but the clouds broke just as the convoy left Estevan at 7 a.m. The leading edge of the convoy reached the southwest corner of Weyburn at 8 a.m., and here is where things really picked up. Two groups were lined up in Weyburn, one on 22nd Avenue, and a second that left Arcola at 7 a.m. By the time the last truck in that Arcola group got going on Highway 39, it was 8:40. In other words, the convoy was already 40 minutes long, heading into Regina. There, it was joined on
Approximately 116 semis and lighter vehicles can be seen in this photo, forming two loops in the KRJ yards, just before rolling out of Estevan. By this point, the contingent from Carnduff, which left at 5:50 a.m., had joined. the eastern side of the city by many more units. The numbers reported that day were in excess of 700 units, mostly semis, taking part. Once parked on the exhibition grounds, the convoy participants as well as others who weren’t in the convoy
gathered in the Queensbury Centre. The room chosen was one of those that can be expanded by opening up partitions to the next room. Those partitions were indeed opened, to the point where attendees were asked to use a second room across the hall, as the primary one
was filled to capacity. The attendance was estimated at 1,500, according to staff
from the premier’s office who conferred with convention centre personnel.
LeBlanc grateful for community’s support
Estevan man charged for child porn offences The Saskatchewan Internet Child Exploitation (ICE) Unit has charged a man from Estevan with alleged child pornography offences, after receiving two complaints in December involving a user sharing child pornography through a popular social media application. Brian Christopher Leibel, 30, has been charged with possession of child pornography, accessing child pornography and making available child pornography, all under the Criminal Code of Canada. Members of the ICE Unit and the Estevan Police Service (EPS) executed a search warrant at a residence in Estevan on Feb. 14, and according to a press release from the ICE unit, found the child pornography. A cellular phone and other computer devices were seized, which
will be subject to further forensic analysis. Leibel was arrested at the residence that same day, charged and later released on numerous conditions for a future court appearance. Staff Sgt. Scott Lambie, the provincial co-ordinator for the ICE unit, said it’s too early to tell how much child pornography was seized. “At this point, we’re still analyzing the devices that were seized. It’s just going to take time. We have to go into all of the data that’s contained in what we seized, and gather all of the images and videos that we can find.” Lambie noted that the EPS was involved with the search of the residence. He believes it was helpful to get the Estevan police involved. “We had to consult with them on a few things, but
the actual investigation was done by the ICE unit,” said Lambie. He did not divulge which social site Leibel is accused of using, but it wasn’t Facebook or Twitter. It ’s not believed that Leibel and the children in the pornography are known to each other. Leibel appeared in Estevan Provincial Court April 1. He was released on numerous conditions and is scheduled to reappear on May 6 at 9:30 a.m. The Saskatchewan ICE Unit is comprised of investigators from the RCMP, Regina Police Service, Saskatoon Police Service, and Prince Albert Police Service. Their mandate is to investigate crimes involving the abuse and/or exploitation of children on the Internet.
Those 1,500 stood throughout the rally, which had a relatively short program. Dan Cugnet, chairman of Valleyview Petroleum of Weyburn acted as master of ceremonies. The speakers included Souris-Moose Mountain MP Dr. Robert Kitchen, Regina-Wascana Conservative candidate Michael Kram, Estevan farmer and auctioneer Jason LeBlanc, and Premier Scott Moe. The focus of the event was to fight the federal carbon tax, build pipelines, kill Bill C-69, the Impacts Assessment Act, and Bill C-48, the tanker ban off the northern British Columbia coast. The applause for LeBlanc was arguabl y e ven greater than that for Moe. Four days earlier, his name was brought up in question period by NDP Leader Ryan Meili, who linked LeBlanc to the yellow vest movement, saying, “Far-outthere conspiracy theories, climate change denial, antiimmigrant, anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic sentiment — this is what the yellow vest movement has become, Mr. Speaker. And I do not understand, but I’d like the Premier A2 » PREMIER
Jason LeBlanc spoke at the Rally Against the Carbon Tax last week. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
By David Willberg dwillberg@estevanmercury.ca
Jason LeBlanc is grateful and overwhelmed for the support he has received, after he was called out in the Saskatchewan Legislature by Ryan Meili, the leader of the provincial New Demo-
cratic Party, last week. Meili was addressing Premier Scott Moe about the Regina Rally Against the Car bon Tax dur ing question period April 1, and wanted to know why Moe would appear at the rally. Then Meili pointed out that LeBlanc was one
of the organizers. Meili addressed comments that LeBlanc made during a speech at the United we Roll Convoy to Ottawa, particularly around climate change. But he also touched on comments LeBlanc made about a desire by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to have a one-world government. Many viewed it as an attempt by Meili to link LeBlanc and the Regina Rally to the yellow vest movement, even though yellow vests were banned from the rally. Meili denies that was the case. LeBlanc said he has been emotional about the support he received since April 1. He has received a lot of phone calls and messages from friends and strangers alike. “It got to the point where I shut my phone off, because there was so m u c h o u t c r y, s o m a n y people upset, and I didn’t respond to it,” L eBlanc A2 » MEILI
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