By

May 2, 2021

-Western Standard

 

NDP leader Rachel Notley is blasting the No More Lockdowns Rodeo near Bowden.

Notley took to social media to express her displeasure with the rodeo taking place Saturday and Sunday. The first day drew almost 2,000 people for an afternoon of western action and speakers against the provincial COVID-19 lockdowns.

“On the same day Alberta has a record of 2,433 new cases of COVID-19. There are no words… #ableg #abhealth,” said Notley alongside a news report of the event.

On Saturday, Alberta Health Services reported the province found 2,433 cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a new record.

Notley put the same tweet on Facebook.

Notley’s criticisms aside, thousands more people are expected to make the trek to Bowden Sunday afternoon, for the final go-round of the No More Lockdowns Rodeo.

The event is being held on a tract of land near town after pressure from the AHS and RCMP forced organizer Ty Northcott to move it from the Bowden Agriculture Society grounds.

The organizations had put enormous pressure on Northcott, and anyone associated with the event, to try and force them not to go ahead.
RCMP officers in unmarked cars could be seen around the property Saturday but no action was taken.

In his efforts to keep the AHS and RCMP guessing, Northcot didn’t publicly announce the location until 5 p.m. Friday, but “it’s somewhere close to Bowden.”

It’s south of the town smack in the middle of the QEII and Hwy. 2A.

“They (AHS and RCMP) have bitten off more than they can chew,” Northcott told the Western Standard.

“We are going to rodeo like it’s 1999!”

Northcott comes from a historic rodeo family and opened up his own livestock ranch in the late ’80s.

But the three Alberta COVID-19 lockdowns have hit his business hard, leaving him with only 50% of his normal stock because the costs of wintering and feeding them depleted his bank account.

Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $15 for adults, $10 for children 7 through 17 years and under 6 years get in free.

c. WESTERN STANDARD