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Anti-Trudeau group protests COVID-19, 5G, gun ban in Vernon

Picketers protest federal government in rain at Polson Park
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Around a dozen protesters took to the highway beside Polson Park to rally against the federal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, gun control and more on Wednesday, May 6, 2020. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

Wednesday’s showers didn’t stop a group of people in Vernon from protesting the federal government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, all while airing grievances on topics ranging from gun control to 5G.

More than a dozen people gathered by the highway next to Polson Park at 1 p.m., May 6, holding signs reading “Trudeau is a traitor” and “no vaccines, no microchips,” and voicing their general displeasure with an array of topics currently in the news.

At it happens, the news itself is a point of contention among the crowd.

Susan Faechner said she doesn’t trust information coming from Justin Trudeau’s government or the mainstream media. When asked where she gets trusted information, Faechner said she relies primarily on her local friend group.

“I get it from my own doctor friends, my own nurse friends and we discuss the benefits and pros and cons of things.”

Faechner is opposed to measures being taken to curb the spread of COVID-19.

She held a sign likening the virus to the common flu.

Faechner also takes issue with the federal government’s ban on assault-style rifles last week.

“All of us agree that guns are our right,” she said.

“We don’t have mass shootings up here. Because of one shooting in Nova Scotia, (Justin Trudeau) writes out a bill and says this is what’s going to happen,” Faechner said. “He has forgotten he works for us.”

Other protesters held signs opposing 5G cellular towers.

Earlier this week the City of Vernon confirmed it had not received any applications to date related to 5G after some residents raised concerns over a newly constructed tower off Highway 6 near the old Far West factory outlet.

That tower belongs to Freedom Mobile and Rogers and will be used for LTE 3-4G mobile telecommunication.

READ MORE: Rumour of 5G tower in Vernon unfounded

READ MORE: Boat launches to reopen in Coldstream amid COVID-19


Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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