A masked protester showed up in front of the local Liberal candidate’s office this weekend, sharing his concerns about the environment.

The individual, carrying a sign that said “Pipelines = more CO2,” would not share his name with volunteers at Ahmed Yousef’s office on Lougheed Highway Saturday morning, but garnered a lot of honks from motorists driving by.

Yousef said he didn’t have a chance to talk to the man, since he was set up at the nearby Haney Farmers Market. His team, however, did invite the man down to visit the Liberal candidate in person.

“We invited him to come meet at the farmers market and come speak with myself and any of the other candidates who might have been around, but he declined – said he was happy trying to raise awareness,” Yousef told The News.

Asked of his take on this action, the candidate (who is currently a sitting councillor in Maple Ridge) said: “I think it’s a great example of the kind of freedom of speech and action to raise awareness that makes this country great.

“He was out, giving up his own time to protest an issue that he felt strongly about; he was kind and respectful to my volunteers. Such a stark contrast to the protesters who were rabidly attacking our health-care heroes at their places of work earlier this week. This man was a great model for how to protest and raise awareness,” Yousef said.

The environment has risen to be one of the primary issue in the upcoming federal election, and leading up to voting day on Sept. 20, Yousef suggested it is a problem that should “transcends platforms and party politics – it needs all of our focus and attention. This is one of the issues I feel strongest about – I’m glad for anyone trying to raise more awareness about it.”

When asked to elaborate, Yousef concluded: “Global warming is the single largest threat to our city, our country, and our species as a whole.”

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