Attendance numbers at protest exaggerated, says counter-protest organizer

Benita Pedersen, is the event coordinator for All Fired Up for Freedom, and organizer for a counter-protest that took place concurrently with another protest over the weekend in Edmonton.  The two competing rallies were to show favor and opposition to the Alberta Sovereignty within a United Canada Act.  She says there were more than 30 people on site to oppose the Sovereignty Act.  But from her side, which supports the Sovereignty Act, there were more than 75 who attended.  Pedersen says one of the organizers of the protest, Haruun Ali, used video of them to mislead people in how many attended to support his particular narrative.

Pederson adds that there were a number of interactions between the for-Sovereignty and anti-Sovereignty group members that were positive and informative

Naveen Day

Naveen's career in broadcast and production spans close to 30 years. Prior to his move to Alberta, he was Senior Producer for two factual entertainment shows for Shaw and BellMTS, which were produced in his hometown of Winnipeg. He also served as a Producer and Production Supervisor at one of Canada's largest and fastest growing churches, and helped lead a production team of 75 volunteers. Naveen came on board with the team at Bridge City News in 2018 and performs on both sides of the camera lens as Producer, Editor, Production Coordinator, Back-up Anchor, Interview Host, and Video Journalist. In February 2022, Naveen went to Ottawa to provide daily, boots-on-the-ground coverage of the Freedom Convoy - an experience he describes as a monumental moment in Canadian history. Naveen is a two-time Communicator Awards recipient. In 2023, he won the Excellence Award for a piece he did on Alberta's Disability workers, and in 2024, he won again for a story titled, "New Smile, New Life".

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