Hundreds of supporters turned out on Tuesday morning at the intersection of HWY 1 and HWY 9 near Whitewood to support truckers across Canada who oppose federal mandates, including a cross-border vaccine mandate with the USA. The convoy started in BC and the various segments of it are expected to arrive in Ottawa by Saturday.
The Freedom Convoy 2022 group mentioned in a news release, “Although our initial convoy estimated to be only 1600 trucks, that number significantly increased to 36,000 trucks in just a few days. It is now estimated that the number of heavy trucks heading to Ottaway is closer to 50,000.”
The convoy departed this leg of their journey early Tuesday morning from the Flying J in Balgonie. People and vehicles were lined up at the intersection near Whitewood. Another group waited further down the road in Moosomin. The attendees honked their horns and shouted support as hundreds of semis, trucks, campers and cars crawled along the highway..
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) says it does not support the rally, while Premier Scott Moe mentioned the mandate requiring truckers to be vaccinated to cross the Canada-U.S. border without quarantining would not “produce any tangible results.”
In a statement, the trucking alliance said, “CTA believes such actions — especially those that interfere with public safety — are not how disagreements with government policies should be expressed,” it read. “Members of the trucking industry who want to publicly express displeasure over government policies can choose to hold an organized, lawful event on Parliament Hill or contact their local MP.”
Premier Moe was asked about the freedom rally and its possible effect on constrained supply chains. He replied that the question would be better suited to the prime minister.
“Is this policy actually going to, in any way, produce any tangible results or is it just going to essentially have a negative result in us not being able to access the goods and services that truckers bring to our community each and every day?”
There is a GoFundMe page where those looking to help the group. Currently, over $5.6 million has been raised which the group says ”will be spent to help cover the cost of fuel for our truckers first and foremost, will be used to assist with food if needed and contribute to shelter if needed”
The group adds on their GoFundMe page, “We are taking our fight to the doorsteps of our Federal Government and demanding that they cease all mandates against its people. Small businesses are being destroyed, homes are being destroyed, and people are being mistreated and denied fundamental necessities to survive. It’s our duty as Canadians to put an end to these mandates. It is imperative that this happens because if we don’t our country will no longer be the country we have come to love. We are doing this for our future generations and to regain our lives back.”