Farmers’ protest to take place in Fort St. John after ostrich cull

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A farmers’ convoy and protest is planned in Fort St. John this Saturday, as part of a nationwide movement.

Local organizer Skylar Cobbett said the movement grew in part from the public backlash surrounding the recent cull at Universal Ostrich Farms in Edgewood.

The cull followed a year-long legal dispute over a depopulation order issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in response to an avian influenza outbreak. 

The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear the farm’s final appeal on November 6th, clearing the way for the culling of the birds.

Critics raised concerns about the validity of disease-control policies which led to the cull and questioned the necessity of the move.

Cobbett argued the event revealed broader issues with CFIA accountability.

“The ostrich farm thing opened up some people’s eyes to what the CFIA has been doing for decades,” she said. 

The CFIA previously said it could not allow the birds to remain because ostriches can carry and spread avian influenza even without symptoms.

Though the cull was a major factor in the organization of the protests, Cobbett said it also touches on broader frustrations with taxes, government transparency and affordability.

“This isn’t a Conservative movement. I don’t think it’s a movement of anybody,” Cobbett said. 

“It’s just people getting together to say, ‘hey, what’s been going on isn’t okay anymore’… and people are tired of living paycheque to paycheque.”

She pointed to taxes on fuel, transportation and materials as pressures limiting farmers’ ability to operate, saying, “a lot of our income seems to go to taxes.”

Cobbett hopes the protest will encourage more people to research government policy and feel empowered to speak out.

“The government works for us, it’s not the other way around,” Cobbett said. “If we want to say no to the government, we can say no to the government.”

Participants will meet at the Charlie Lake south boat launch at 11 a.m. and convoy through Fort St. John before gathering for speeches at Centennial Park around 3:15 p.m.

The convoy and gathering at Centennial Park are scheduled for Saturday, November 22nd.