Truck drivers convoy across Canada in protest of federal vaccine mandates
Thousands of transport truck drivers are convoying across the country Sunday to protest the current federal vaccine mandate for cross-border travel.
Those involved say the pandemic rules and mandates are destroying the foundation of businesses, industries and livelihoods.
“Everybody has their own choice and their own opinion about it,” says Chris Colenutt, owner and operator of Chris Colenutt Trucking in Essex. “If we shut down the economy, there’s going to be a big problem right?”
In a tweet, Windsor police said a truck convoy is expected to arrive in the Windsor area on Sunday and repeatedly travel Huron Church Road until Jan. 26, urging residents to avoid the area if possible.
A convoy of thousands of transport truck drivers protesting the federal vaccine mandate for cross-border travel drove through Windsor, Ont. on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)
Just over a week ago, new policy stated all truckers who cross the border from the U.S. into Canada must be vaccinated to avoid testing requirements and a 14-day quarantine.
“If you’re wearing it, eat it or bought it, it came on a truck and if the trucks aren’t rolling, you’re not getting it,” says Keith Montgomery, a truck mobile mechanic saying the protest is not about anti-vaccination, explaining it’s about freedom of choice. “Yes I’m vaccinated, my whole family is, and again just to stress this out, we’re not a bunch of anti-vaxxers saying we don’t want to get vaccinated.”
“The economy is going to stop and when that economy stops, everybody’s job is affected,” Montgomery adds.
Others like Terry Hopson of Windsor stood along Huron Church Road waving a Canadian flag in support.
“They’re infringing on our freedoms and they don’t have that right,” Hopson tells CTV News he just wants things to return to normal as soon as possible. “I’ll be out here every day if I have to be.”
The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) says an estimated 12,000 Canadian truckers and upwards of tens of thousands more from the U.S. will be unable to work cross-border shipping routes due to the vaccination requirement.
However, officials say the vast majority of the Canadian trucking industry is vaccinated with the overall industry vaccination rate among truck drivers closely mirroring that of the general public.
In an email statement the Canadian Trucking Alliance said it does not support and strongly disapproves of any protests on public roadways, highways, and bridges, saying the CTA believes such actions – especially those that interfere with public safety – are not how disagreements with government policies should be expressed.
A convoy of thousands of transport truck drivers protesting the federal vaccine mandate for cross-border travel drove through Windsor, Ont. on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)
A convoy of thousands of transport truck drivers protesting the federal vaccine mandate for cross-border travel drove through Windsor, Ont. on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)
The statement reads disrupting the motoring public on highways and commerce at the border is unacceptable, suggesting members of the trucking industry who want to publicly express displeasure over government policies to hold organized, lawful events on Parliament Hill or contact their local MP.
“The Government of Canada and the United States have now made being vaccinated a requirement to cross the border. This regulation is not changing so, as an industry, we must adapt and comply with this mandate,” said CTA president Stephen Laskowski. “The only way to cross the border, in a commercial truck or any other vehicle, is to get vaccinated.”
Unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated non-Canadian truckers are being turned away if they are unable to show proof of immunization or a valid medical contraindication to the COVID-19 vaccines.
The United States is set to roll out a similar policy on Jan. 22.
A Freedom Convoy online fundraiser has raised over $2 million so far to help with the costs of fuel, food and lodging.
- With files from ctvnews.ca.
A convoy of thousands of transport truck drivers protesting the federal vaccine mandate for cross-border travel drove through Windsor, Ont. on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)
A convoy of thousands of transport truck drivers protesting the federal vaccine mandate for cross-border travel drove through Windsor, Ont. on Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.