Defeat? Success? Only the first chapter?
Again from New Brunswick:
Truck drivers angry about the price of gas believe they made their point as life returned to normal following a truckers' protest in New Brunswick.
Store shelves were being re-stocked on Friday and traffic jams cleared away from major highways leading into and out of New Brunswick as the last of the truck blockades came down....
Independent truckers organized the three-day blockade of major New Brunswick highways to send a message about the impact of soaring energy prices on their fragile bottom lines....
The blockades started coming down on Thursday night as RCMP officers warned drivers they faced hefty fines if they continued to break traffic laws.
All of the blockades were gone by Friday afternoon.
"Most of them (truckers) didn't really want to be in the blockades," said RCMP Sgt. Ron Gosselin.
"Many felt they had no choice but to park on the side of the road . . . they didn't want to push their luck."
Eric Bijeau, an independent trucker from Saint-Leonard, N.B., said most of the drivers didn't want trouble with the RCMP since they cross into the United States frequently and can't have criminal records.
"Our point has been made," Bijeau said.
"It's the big guy against the small guy right now and the small guy is backed up against the wall."
Bijeau said truckers believe that major refiners in Canada are raking in huge profits as a result of the recent spike in gas prices.
He said the provincial and federal governments are not doing enough to protect consumers from a greedy oil and gas industry.
"Premier Bernard Lord - up here we call him Bernard Irving," Bijeau said, referring to the Irving interests of Saint John, N.B., who own and operate Canada's largest refinery....
Lord said his Conservative government is willing to meet with truckers to discuss their grievances.
He said he understands that many of them have fixed contracts and they are losing money because of the increase in fuel costs.
But he said blockades are not acceptable.
"It doesn't help anybody, he said. "It just hurts the economy."
Ralph Boyd's Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association is ecstatic:
NB blockade cleared thanks to APTA/court injunction
Roads now clear for truck traffic
( OTTAWA : Friday, September 9, 2005) – The Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association reports truck traffic is once again moving in the New Brunswick region, thanks to a court injunction obtained last evening by APTA.
The injunction is in place until 11 a.m. September 16, when APTA and its legal counsel will have to reappear in court. The injunction applies to the entire province of New Brunswick and states that all traffic, including trucks, cannot be impeded for any reason.
Even so, there are still a couple of areas where independents have gathered, but are not blocking traffic.
APTA is continuing to monitor the situation and asks any carriers that may encounter any incidents on the roadway to report them to the APTA office at 1-866-866-1679 or at apta@apta.ca .
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But for Eric Bijeau, this isn't over yet, despite the threat of losing $120 - Canadian:
Canadian Press reports that the independent truckers...agreed to move their trucks from the Trans-Canada in Saint-Jacques, near the Quebec border when approached by RCMP officers with $120 tickets in hand....
Around midnight, the RCMP used the same tactic near the Woodstock border, where hundreds of trucks lined the Trans-Canada....
About 500 owner-ops formed an ad-hoc group called Truckers and Drivers Association of North America. They've blocking truck traffic in Saint-Jacques and at exits in Saint-Leonard, Saint- Andre and Perth-Andover all week by asking motorists to sign a petition calling on the government to cap taxes and take action against oil companies.
About 1,000 other truckers not involved with the strike have been forced to pull over. The shutdown of commercial traffic in the area has angered residents as perishable goods and energy products have been blocked from getting to suppliers and retailers....
Protest organizer Eric Bijeau told CP he was frustrated by the police tactics, adding that his group will plan "on the next step."
And this blog isn't the only blog that's been covering this. Here comes another one:
New Brunswick, Canada - Hundreds of trucks slowed traffic in a number of locations along the Trans-Canada Highway and asked motorists to sign petitions calling for the government to help lower fuel prices. The action was part of a three day planned protest organized by the little-known Truckers and Drivers Association of North America. More than 3,000 miles away, south of the border, log truckers held a rally in Corvallis, Oregon and more protests have been planned in Monticello, Indiana.
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