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Not everyone is taking the protest comments seriously.

Edmonton

“Elizabeth May has declared war on common sense and Canadian unity,” said Ric McIver, interim leader of the Alberta PC party, following Carr’s speech.

“We can’t let the pipeline get held up by people that will never agree to any standard,” he added. “The law of the jungle cannot prevail.”

Carr fielded questions from business leaders about the potential for protest escalating to the kind of civil unrest seen recently at Standing Rock in North Dakota.

He said he welcomes peaceful dissent, but draws the line at breaking the law.

“If people choose for their own reasons not to be peaceful, then the government of Canada, through its defence forces, through its police forces, will ensure that people will be kept safe,” he said to applause from the room. “We have a history of peaceful dialogue and dissent in Canada. I’m certainly hopeful that that tradition will continue. If people determine for their own reasons that that’s not the path they want to follow, then we live under the rule of law.”

De Jong was happy with that response, but remains cautious.

“In Canada, we have a long tradition of building major infrastructure projects like railways and highways under the rule of law where there’s a fair negotiation for access to land and the effect it has on communities,” he said. “Once those decisions are made, people fall in line and our workers have always been pleased to work in that kind of safe environment. We now see the possibility that perhaps some conditions may be different.”