Sask. Premier Scott Moe criticized for declining to denounce anti-vaccine mandate protests

Premier Scott Moe is facing backlash from Saskatchewan's Official Opposition for declining to denounce ongoing anti-vaccine mandate protests in Ottawa and at U.S. border crossings. 

On Wednesday, Moe told CBC's Power and Politics that protesters are getting their voices heard and that he's "going to stay out of telling" them what to do.

"The majority of these folks are just tired, quite frankly, of the public health measures that are in place and they're quite willing to move forward living with the risks that COVID may present," Moe said.

The protest that started in Ottawa has spread to Windsor, Ont. and Coutts, Alta., disrupting the flow of goods and crippling Canada-U.S. trade.

Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products have been held back because of the blockade at Windsor's Ambassador Bridge. 

Moe said economic implications will ensure the federal government pays attention and discusses scaling down public health measures. 

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili says Moe had the opportunity to condemn the protests and the messages behind them.  

"A message that is anti-vaccine, that is anti-science, a message of people who are talking about overthrowing our elected government, a message where we see QAnon, where we see swastikas," Meili said at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

"This is someone who once upon a time would speak up against blockades, and it's just this kind of a moment where you think Scott Moe can't go any lower but here he did."

Moe's tone is different from when he stood against Indigenous-led rail blockades two years ago.

Railway service was halted for several days due to blockades around the country in a show of solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en Nation in British Columbia, who had been protesting the Coastal GasLink pipeline going through their historical territory.

"The rule of law is a fundamental pillar of our Canadian democracy," Moe wrote in a tweet on Feb. 12, 2020. "When did the right to protest turn into the right to illegally impede the lives and livelihoods of law abiding Canadians?"

Moe commented on the anti-vaccine mandate protests again on Thursday morning after multiple media requests.

"Our government supports everyone's right to peaceful protest, but not unlawful activity," read a statement from his press secretary.