A rally in support of the carbon tax had to be called off after only nine people showed up.
The alleged demonstration outside the New Brunswick legislature in Fredericton was to last seven hours on Feb. 15, but the group of nine all gave up within an hour.
Among the nonet was New Brunswick Green Party Leader David Coon.
The group had disbanded before any journalists arrived to cover the event, which was inspired by teenage Swedish environmental activst Greta Thunberg’s pro-carbon tax advocacy.
“The main goal of this strike is to voice our support for the implementation of a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend policy (carbon tax),” said the Facebook page for the event.
The organizer was disappointed by the lack of uptake from the community. This should come as no surprise to Canadians considering how unpopular the carbon tax is.
“Ideally I’d like to have high school students take the lead, but that’s not happening yet,” said organizer Dominique Deveaux.
A couple of protesters who had arrived late had told the media they had seen similarly weak turnouts on similar events across New Brunswick.
The event came just a few days after federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer told a crowd in Fredericton that the “Conservatives’ job number one will be to repeal the carbon tax.”
The Liberal government is looking to impose a carbon tax on the provinces by $50 a tonne by 2022.
Several provinces, including New Brunswick, have joined in a lawsuit claiming the imposition of a carbon tax on the provinces is unconstitutional. New Brunswick will be intervening in Ontario’s constitutional challenge of the carbon tax in April.
The Fredericton group is planning another demonstration in late March.
