Article content continued

Photo by John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

Kim Keely, who has a cow-calf operation west of Nanton as well as an oilfield, welding and fabricating business in Stavely, south of Nanton in southern Alberta, said trust is long gone. She said the NDP didn’t listen to farmers and ranchers at consultation meetings and had little information to offer them.

“It’s not even about the bill anymore. It’s about the Alberta advantage. Where did we lose track of that along the way?” Keely said at the rally. “Everybody knew safety legislation was coming, but nobody asked us what we thought about it.”

Even though the legislature session is finished, Keely said the government needs to hear the voices of farmers and ranchers. She said while her workers have WCB coverage, many others have private insurance that offers more perks, such as pensions and gym memberships.

“I realize it’s not the NDP’s fault oil prices are low. I realize it is not their fault that things in Alberta have changed,” Keely said. “But we are not stopping.”

Photo by John Lucas / Edmonton Journal

Wildrose MLA Jason Nixon came on a bus from Ponoka with about 35 of his constituents to stand with them against the legislation.

“It’s sending a message to the premier and the NDP, particularly in rural Alberta, that in the agriculture community this issue is not over just because you passed the bill,” Nixon said before addressing the crowd with several other Wildrose and Progressive Conservative MLAs. “We’ve made it very clear we’re going to replace the NDP government in 2019 and at that point we’ll fix what is wrong with this bill.”