Limited enforcement as Coutts border blockade shuts down the border again

The protesters set up near Coutts, Alta., say they are committed to their cause and have closed down all lanes of traffic heading to the border once again.

It was a quieter day on Thursday following a scene where RCMP officers lined up in front of the demonstrators who have been encamped in the area for nearly two weeks.

Just a handful of tickets, violations of Alberta's Traffic Safety Act, came out of that encounter but protesters say they aren't bothered by the penalties and will remain as long as it takes until their demands are met.

"It's a little bit of a tacky souvenir," one protester named Bryan told CTV News on Thursday. "I would prefer it was handwritten and signed."

Highway 4, the route that runs past the town of Coutts and across the border into Montana, was closed again on Thursday.

A promise made by the protesters to allow trucks loaded with livestock through was not kept.

The blockage also had a personal impact for one Alberta woman, whose relatives had attempted to get through to visit her dying grandmother.

"My grandmother passed away at 5:30 on Tuesday morning with my dad by her side," said Megan Allan. "My aunts were unable to make it. They didn't have the opportunity to be with their mom because of the protests and the blockade."

Meanwhile, the Alberta Opposition says time is up for the protesters and Premier Jason Kenney needs to act to shut it down.

"For nearly two weeks people and goods have not been able to move freely through Alberta’s most important economic corridor," said Lorne Dach, NDP transportation critic in a release.

Dach said the NDP has already lobbied the government to seek an injunction to end the protest but the UCP government has yet to take action.

He also suggested that Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney suspend the licenses of the commercial operators involved in the protest.

"It’s a serious measure and it would have a significant impact on the livelihoods of those commercial operators who are participating in this illegal blockade," Dach said.

Up to this point, Kenney has taken little action other than denouncing the blockade and calling on other jurisdictions for additional law enforcement personnel.

According to the NDP, analysts say the protests have cost the province $44 million per day.

With files from Timm Bruch and Tyson Fedor