A convoy of trucks headed for Ottawa has now passed through southern Manitoba.

Freedom Convoy 2022 was organized as a way for trucking companies, truck drivers and Canadians to take a position against mandatory vaccines for truck drivers. As of January 15th, Canada requires truck drivers to be fully vaccinated if they want to avoid a 14-day quarantine before crossing into our country. The convoy started on January 22nd in British Columbia and is expected to end on January 29th on Parliament Hill. Organizers say they are taking their fight to the doorsteps of the federal government, demanding they cease all COVID-19 mandates against Canadians.

The convoy rolled east of Winnipeg at around 4 pm on Tuesday. Thousands of people lined the sides of the Trans Canada Highway. Byran Halliday of Grunthal says he decided to show his support because he thinks too many freedoms are being taken away. He says vaccines should not be forced on anybody and notes it is disappointing how Canada's perception towards truck drivers has changed since the start of the pandemic.

"The truckers were there when the pandemic was really bad and then now all of a sudden they are not good enough to cross the border, they are not good enough to do their jobs, and that's very unfair," suggests Halliday. "Everybody stayed at home and was scared, they didn't leave, but the truckers stayed out not knowing what could happen for their health."

Mario Braun of St. Jean says he too thinks it should be up to each individual to decide whether or not to get vaccinated. Braun says he is hopeful the convoy can produce a favourable resolution.

"I'm not for violence at all and hopefully they can see our message the peaceful way before anything else happens," he says. "When people lose their jobs, people get desperate, so let's hope it doesn't get to that."

Devin Penner of St. Malo says he has vaccinated friends and unvaccinated friends and thinks what each person does with their body should be their own choice.

"I don't agree with mandating it, not allowing people to even go to church or limit the gathering sizes, limit families," says Penner. "I think it's time people stood up as a united front. I hope it stays peaceful."

Jolene Conway of Steinbach says attending the rally was important to her because it is time people rally together.

"These mandates have created division, whether you are vaxed or unvaxed, it's creating hatred," notes Conway. "This shows that everybody is coming together, the vaxed, the unvaxed, doesn't matter your status, you are here so that everybody can just be together."

"I think this is pretty awesome," adds Melanie Sawatzky of Steinbach. "I'm here to support the truckers because I think the mandates are stupid."

 

Kevin Nolt is a Winnipeg-area trucker who was going to join the convoy until his truck broke down. Nolt says he is not necessarily anti-vax but worries about people's right to choose and about the thousands of drivers who will be out of work now that they cannot drive across the border freely. The U.S. has since put in place its own mandate requiring truckers to be fully vaccinated.

"Not only that, but that will have a big impact on the supply chain," Nolt says. "There's a shortage of truckers as there is on both sides of the line."

He says he does not believe truckers who spend most of their time alone should be mandated.

On the weekend the Canadian Trucking Alliance released a statement in opposition to the convoy. "The Canadian Trucking Alliance does not support and strongly disapproves of any protests on public roadways, highways, and bridges," the statement says. "CTA believes such actions - especially those that interfere with public safety - are not how disagreements with government policies should be expressed."

Organizers of the convoy responded in a video.

"We're not backing down and we are going to Ottawa," Tamara Lich, a protest organizer from Medicine Hat, Alberta, says in a Facebook Live video posted on Sunday.

Organizers describe the vaccine mandate as an example of political overreach resulting in economic harm, arguing the policy hurts small businesses and denies some workers the means to survive. They also say they are not protesting the vaccine mandates for truckers, but all mandates and lockdowns linked to the pandemic response.

On Monday Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shot back against Conservatives who were condemning the mandates. Trudeau says that almost 90 per cent of Canadian truckers are vaccinated, speaking on Monday to reporters. The Prime Minister made the comments after Alberta Premier Jason Kenney shared photos of empty grocery store shelves.

"I regret that the Conservative Party and Conservative politicians are in the process of stoking Canadians' fears about the supply chain. The reality is that vaccination is how we'll get through this," says Trudeau.

Conservative party leader Erin O'Toole, however, says "at every occasion, I encourage truckers to get vaccinated. That's the best way to keep supplies flowing."

Some 30,000 trucks roll across the border each day hauling nearly $850 million in freight, according to 2020 figures from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The CTA says that anywhere between 12,000 and 16,000 Canadian drivers could be sidelined by the mandate.