United Conservative Party leader Danielle Smith posed for photos with campaign supporters Wednesday night, including three people who were either fined or charged for their role in the so-called Freedom Convoy to Ottawa.
Political events attract people from all walks of life and politicians are not known to waste opportunities to try and secure votes, but an Alberta analyst said this is not the first time Smith has met with supporters who hold extreme views.
“Politicians take photos all the time. If this was a one-off or a two-off or a three-off, you know, no big deal,” said Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt.
“But there seems to be a repeated pattern all related around COVID that Danielle Smith keeps sticking her foot into.”
Smith had posed with James Bauder, his wife, Sandra Collins Bauder, and Harold Jonker at a fundraising event for Eric Bouchard, the UCP candidate for Calgary-Lougheed — former premier Jason Kenney’s riding.
Danielle Smith (centre right) poses with James Bauder (left) and his wife Sandra Collins Bauder (centre left) and Harold Jonker (right) at a fundraising event in Calgary on April 26, 2023.
Credit: Canada Unity Facebook page
“James Bauder and Sandra Collins Bauder with Premier Danielle Smith and Ontario trucker Harold Jonker at a dinner and silent auction in Calgary. Doing our small part to make sure Alberta is a beacon of Freedom to the rest of Canada,” reads the caption on the Facebook page for Canada Unity, which Bauder cof-ounded.
The UCP told Global News in a statement that Smith didn’t know the trio.
“As usual, the premier took part in a routine photo line-up with nearly 200 people last night. The Premier does not personally know these individuals,” the party said.
James Bauder is a commercial truck driver from Calgary who helped organize the convoy. His wife, Sandra Collins Bauder, was also involved.
The report from the inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act during the 2021 convoy named him as one of five figures who played important roles in mobilizing the demonstration, though they didn’t always act in unison.
The Bauders are both facing charges, including mischief to obstruct property, disobeying a lawful court order, and obstructing a peace officer.
Bauder’s Canada Unity group had prepared a “memorandum of…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at : Politics…