Canadian truckers to arrive in Ottawa as tensions flare over vaccine mandate

By Mike Lloyd and Kier Junos and Hana Mae Nassar

Posted January 28, 2022 6:34 am.

Last Updated July 5, 2022 9:55 am.

Ottawa is bracing for the arrival of a convoy of truckers Friday, with police and security forces preparing for a so-called ‘freedom rally’ over the weekend.

The rolling protest was sparked by cross-border vaccine mandates for truck drivers — though many of the participants now insist the rally is about all government health mandates.

The rally set for Saturday has prompted a warning for members of parliament and their families, with a note sent to MPs by Canada Sergeant-at-Arms Patrick McDonell Thursday warning them of doxing ahead of the event.

“News outlets have indicated that demonstrations may also take place at Members’ constituency offices or residences within the National Capital Region,” McDonell writes.

The Sgt-at-Arms has sent a note to MPs warning them of doxing ahead of the trucker protest. There have been attempts to post online the home addresses of MPs in the Capital Region. Warns them to go “somewhere safe” if there is a protest outside their home or office #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/8DQhdIxxW5

— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) January 27, 2022

“Solicitations were issued to the online community for Members’ residential addresses in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. This is known as doxing — a process of finding and publishing personal information about a particular individual on the Internet, usually with malicious intent.”

In B.C., majority of truckers vaccinated: associations

Some trucking groups say the convoy doesn’t represent their members. Vijay Deep Singh Sahasi, president of the West Coast Trucking Association, says no one has approached him about joining the convoy.

“I’ve not come across anybody who has asked me to come and said, ‘Why don’t we be a part of this convoy?’ Simply, again, I would say the reason is that … approximately 93 per cent of us are already vaccinated. That could be one of the reasons that nobody has approached us. It’s all those people who do not want to get vaccinated or are concerned about their own bodies,” he told Omni News.

Sahasi says the group supports the drivers’ right to protest vaccine mandates, but notes his members have not joined the long drive to Ottawa.

“We as truckers would certainly support truckers. It is their own decisions whether they want to be vaccinated or not. If you talk about the South Asian community, most of us are vaccinated,” he said, noting many of his drivers are South Asian.

Another group doesn’t want the issue of vaccine mandates to overshadow other industry concerns.

“There are several other major issues for our bread and butter which needs to be discussed before this vaccine mandatory thing,” said Gagan Singh, spokesperson for the United Truckers Association.

He adds fair insurance rates for independent truck drivers and trucker safety are the top issues truckers should be bringing to Ottawa.

“All the issues need to be tackled along with the vaccine stuff, too. They have a right to express their feelings. They can go to Ottawa. But one of the biggest concerns is that, just remember that vaccination is just a small thing. There are some other issues,” Singh said.

Sahasi believes the rally hardly represents the issues solely in the trucking industry. He points to the many people in the convoy driving personal vehicles to Ottawa.

There are dozens of big rigs in the movement, but hundreds are regular vehicles filled with supporters of the drivers pushing against vaccine mandates.

Police and security are offering estimates of anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 people expected at Saturday’s rally.

When asked about the convoy, the BC Trucking Association says it is “not involved with or supportive of the ‘movement’ in any manner.”

“Both American and Canadian governments require vaccination for drivers crossing the border; all drivers and motor carriers will comply with those mandates,” reads a statement from Dave Earle, president and CEO of the association.

Many truckers have posted on social media to say they are continuing to do their jobs and that the convoy doesn’t speak for them.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has said the majority of truckers on this side of the border are vaccinated, closely mirroring the vaccination rate of the general public.

The alliance estimates that 85 per cent of the approximately 120,000 Canadian truckers who regularly cross the border are vaccinated. That leaves more than 15,000 drivers that could be affected by the new rules.

It previously said this type of demonstration isn’t a safe or effective way of resisting the vaccine policy, adding drivers must adapt and comply with cross-border vaccination rules.

First batch of fundraiser money released

Meanwhile, organizers who launched a GoFundMe campaign to help truckers with the costs associated with the convoy say the platform has released the first batch of funds.

This comes after GoFundMe froze the millions of dollars that had been raised, saying it needed more transparency around how the money would be spent and who it would go to.

“Funds will be safely held until the organizer is able to provide the documentation to our team about how funds will be properly distributed,” Rachel Hollis, a spokesperson for the crowdfunding platform, previously told The Canadian Press.

Organizers of the fundraiser say the first portion of money will help drivers and support vehicles with their expenses.

As of Friday morning, the campaign had raised close to $7 million.

Protest concerns

The polarizing convoy has attracted extremist rhetoric online, with some suggesting overthrowing the government. In some instances, people have said they want this event to turn into Canada’s “January 6th” — referencing the storming of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. a year ago.

The lead organizer of the convoy took to Facebook to distance the event from any of this talk, telling supporters if they see anyone being aggressive or inciting violence, they need to report it to police.

Law enforcement agencies responsible for protection in and around Parliament Hill have said they are all keeping an eye on things, adding they are closely monitoring the situation to address potential concerns.

Though the convoy and rally were initially supposedly about vaccine mandates, the protest has since shifted.

Canada Unity, the central group organizing this convoy, has posted online a memorandum of understanding, going as far as demanding the governor general and Senate sign a document to essentially replace the federal government with a ‘Citizens Committee’ that this group will help choose.

As of Jan. 15, the federal government required Canadian truck drivers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to avoid a 14-day quarantine when they cross the border from the U.S. Earlier this month, the U.S. barred unvaccinated Canadian drivers from entering the country, mirroring Canada’s border filter for American truckers.

-With files from Cormac MacSweeney, Michael Ranger, and Renee Bernard

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