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“If this carries on it will have devastating impacts on our economy here in Alberta and in the rest of the country. Albertans will not tolerate this kind of lawless mockery of our democratic principles and this attack on our nations and our province’s prosperity.”

Bill 1 builds on the UCP’s fall legislation that increased the maximum penalties for trespassing and made it harder for trespassers to sue landowners or tenants for death or injury.

If passed, the law would create bigger fines and prison terms of up to six months. Unlike those of previous trespassing laws, Bill 1 would create fines that could be newly applied and added to previous fines every day that a protest continues.

It would apply to a long list of “essential infrastructure,” publicly and privately owned, including oil and gas production and refinery sites, telephone lines, water utilities and dams.

“Each day that (this) goes on, it would be a new offence, so the fines would compound over time … We want to send a clear signal that this will not be tolerated,” said justice minister Doug Schweitzer.

Fines would start at $1,000 and could go up to $25,000 as early as day two of a blockade. Corporations could also be fined up to $200,000, including for aiding, counselling or directing blockades.

The bill could also apply to massive convoys that disrupt traffic, such as the trucker convoy that ended in Nisku in December 2018 with a speech from federal Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer. Traffic westbound to the airport on Airport Road was disrupted and there were traffic delays throughout Nisku and the Leduc North Business Park.