Quebec truckers joining 'Freedom Convoy' as it rolls to Parliament Hill
As Canadian truckers and their supporters make their way from western Canada to Ottawa this weekend, Quebec truckers are expected to gather at several border crossings Friday morning, including Lacolle, Stanstead and St-Theophile, hoping to support the cause.
Truckers are heading to the nation’s capital to protest the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, but since the movement has grown other groups are associating themselves with the truckers to protest COVID-19 restrictions in general that they say violate their freedoms. Supporters of the movement say they want Ottawa to end all vaccine-related mandates, even though most of them are the responsibility of individual provinces.
“I'm heading to Ottawa for freedom,” said Quebec convoy co-organizer Simon Vallee, who rejects vaccines and sanitary measures.
“When I saw it move from British Columbia, it touched my heart and I knew I had to get involved.”
The federal government's mandate came into effect Jan. 15 and requires Canadian truckers to quarantine if they're unvaccinated when crossing the border into Canada. The United States will not allow unvaccinated Canadian truckers to cross the border as well.
The truckers are expected to cross the Champlain bridge and the Lafontaine tunnel during the afternoon and gather near Vaudreuil-Dorion on their way to Ottawa this weekend. The so-called “Freedom Convoy” is expected to reach Parliament Hill on Saturday and Ottawa police said Wednesday they expect it to be a “multi-day” event.
In recent days, some of the rhetoric from people participating in the convoy has turned violent, including some participants saying they hope the protest turns into Canada’s version of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. capitol in Washington that killed five people.
On Thursday, Parliament's Sergeant-at-Arms, Patrick McDonnell, issued a warning to MPs about security risks related to the incoming convoy, telling the parliamentarians about the potential for doxing and to avoid any demonstrations.
The movement is not supported by large trucking companies and the major trucking associations. The Canadian Trucking Alliance claims 90 per cent of their members are vaccinated and respect protocols.
But supporters of the convoy insist Canada's economy will suffer if vaccination remains mandatory to cross borders at a time when supply chain issues, due to the pandemic and labour shortages, are already affecting Canadians.
“We were already short of truckers,” Vallee said.
One leading trucking industry expert said this is a western conservative political movement that never had anything to do with truckers.
“They manipulate truckers,” said Benoit Therrien, who heads a trucking assistance group called Truck Stop Quebec. “Nobody from the trucking industry is leading this manifestation.”
What isn't clear is how many will participate, as supporters will likely gather alongside the road to encourage the convoy.
Quebec provincial police said it will keep a close tab on the situation, but declined to comment on the convoy before Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.