Its been nearly a month since the federal government rolled out its federal trucker vaccine mandate and opposition to the rule continues to mount. As the main convoy in Ottawa has reduced in numbers, the remaining protesters are continuing to pester residents and additional trucker protests expand – inspiring similar protests across the country and internationally.

Update on Ottawa

As the protest in Ottawa goes into its 12th day, many protesters have left the area but a small contingent still remains. Roughly 500 vehicles are part of the protest in the Ottawa downtown core and have gone as far as building makeshift shelters for gas and supplies to keep their operation going. Due to the disturbances many businesses in the area, including the Rideau Centre, have remained closed since the protest began. Major museums and some other public spaces have also been closed in response to the protesters. The closures, traffic, and alleged rowdiness of the protesters have pitted many Ottawa residents against the protesters as Ottawers attempt to go about their daily lives. Some pressure was released from the situation when, on Monday, an injunction was granted to halt anyone honking horns in Ottawa. Though Ottawa police are still working to defuse the situation, claiming that there have been 22 arrests, 1300 tickets issued, and 79 ongoing investigations. However, one major factor as to why they haven’t taken more aggressive action is that apparently, 25% of the trucks involved in the protest have children living in them. Police are considering all options In the interest of protecting the 100+ children in the remaining convoy. – more details available here.

Update on Coutts

As the secondary ‘convoy’ at the border crossing in Coutts Alberta enters its 4th day of a border blockade, protesters are still digging in and there is no end in sight. There are still roughly 50 vehicles blocking the border crossing in both directions with police unable to clear out either of the two blockades that have formed. Though earlier this week the protesters cleared one lane of traffic in order for essential travel to continue in one direction, this was short-lived as protesters quickly refilled the single clear lane and once again blocked traffic in both directions.

There was hope that yesterday’s announcement from Alberta premier Jason Kenny would convince protesters to ease the blockade, but these hopes were quickly dashed. The announcement took effect last night at midnight, ending the vaccine passport requirement and growing certain gathering limits. The announcement also included that on March 1st all gathering limits would be dropped and mask mandates ending. This, however, was not enough for the protesters at the Coutts border crossing who say that they’re much more interested, or rather upset with, the federal response and that they won’t move until Prime Minister Trudeau changes his mandates.

It seems as though this is the only way the blockage is going to be cleared at this point as it certainly won’t be by force. Authorities in Coutts, and in Ottawa, have said that local towing companies have been unwilling to assist in removing vehicles at the protest out of fear that it will impact their business now and in the future. Because of the relationship between truckers and heavy-duty tow truck drivers, it’s thought that breaking up the protest by towing away big rigs could cause the towing companies to lose business from the truckers that they typically might work with. – more details available here.

A New Protest – Protesters at the Ambassador Bridge

The most concerning new development in this protesting saga occurred on Monday when protesters in Ontario shut down the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest border crossing in the country. Roughly 200 vehicles, most of which were not transport trucks, locked up traffic in both directions late Monday night. Though a northbound lane was cleared late on Tuesday, traffic into the US is still completely closed off. Currently, drivers are being diverted to a border crossing in Sarnia in order to maintain some travel in the area, but there are still dozens of trucks and cars stuck waiting behind the blockade.

Because the bridge usually facilitates the transport of nearly $50 million worth of goods every day, many business associations on both sides of the border are calling for a swift resolution to the blockade. The most immediate effect has been on auto manufacturing in Windsor, as most plants rely on just-in-time delivery and any reduction in supply could cause the cancellation of shifts. Though many plants have contingencies for these situations, the delay or total blockage of these and other goods entering the country could damage the local economy and have shockwaves throughout the province. – more details available here.

We’ve written similar articles about the protest here.

It’s rare that a story will dominate transportation headlines for three weeks in a row. However, because of the Freedom Convoy 2022, here we are again talking about the new driver vaccine mandate at Canada US border. If you’re not caught up with the story you can read about the controversy and confusion leading up to the mandate HERE, and the initial fallout that occurred last week HERE.

As a brief refresher: on January 15th new rules from the Canadian government came into effect which forced all Canadian unvaccinated truck drivers crossing the border to be vaccinated, less they face a two-week quarantine upon their return. There was a large amount of pushback from industry groups and cross-border carriers to leave truck drivers exempt from the mandate in order to keep the already stressed supply chain from experiencing any more disruptions. For a moment, a few days before the mandate came into effect, the Canada Border Security Agency (CBSA) even put out a statement saying that truckers would be exempt from the mandate, though the federal government walked with statement back within a day and the mandate came into effect as scheduled. When the rule came into effect there were immediate protests and a large “Freedom Convoy” of truckers heading to Ottawa to voice their disdain was quickly organized.

The protest gets rolling

The protest started in western Canada and picked up more drivers as it moved east. The convoy has stopped in a few cities to hold demonstrations, but most of the protest has been a “rolling protest” with drivers driving slowly in packs across major roadways, displaying signs and slogans. Because the convoy is a conglomerate of many smaller protests it’s hard to tell exactly how many truckers are part of the convoy at the moment or how many will make it to Ottawa. Most reports say that only about 10% of drivers in Canada are unvaccinated, however, the protests are also picking up support from non-truck drivers who are tagging along in order to show support for the overall anti-restriction / anti-lockdown message that the convoy represents. There has also been a wave of monetary contributions

Reactions from around the country

Though the protest is gaining steam it seems that the federal government is not blinking in its stance on mandatory vaccines. On Monday Prime Minister Trudeau reaffirmed his focus on the mandates saying”the best way to continue to prevent supply chain disruptions is to ensure that everyone gets vaccinated”.

In addition, a joint statement was released Tuesday from the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Labour, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, and the President of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, stressing the need for truckers to get vaccinated. Even opposition leader Erin O’Toole voiced less outright support for driver vaccination, saying “I support getting as many people vaccinated as possible, including truckers”.

There were some comments to the contrary made by members of O’Toole’s party, however. Former Conservative party leader Andrew Scheer said in a social media post: “Thank you Truckers! Trudeau is attacking personal liberty and threatening everyone’s ability to get groceries because of his overreach on vaccine mandates,”. a few other conservative MPs expressed their support for the protests heading to Ottawa, with some even offering to meet with the protestors when they arrive.

When the protestors arrive in Ottawa Tomorrow they may be met with a warmer welcome than initially anticipated. however, its unlikely that even with the support of a few voices in parliament, they’ll be able to make the government budge on their vaccine stance.

Controversy Over Funding

One recent development in the story that has whipped up a lot of press is the Freedom Convoy fundraiser started by Tamara Lich of Medicine Hat. The fundraiser aimed at covering costs for truckers making the trek to Ottawa has raised over 5.1 million dollars as of Wednesday morning and is continuing to grow. The page was briefly shut down for a while earlier this week by go fund me, the site suspended the campaign over concerns that the organizers did not have a clear plan to distribute the money. Organizer Tamara Lich assured donors that they were providing the documents to GoFundMe and the campaign would continue as planned.

One other element of controversy actually stems from the organizer herself. Lich is not a trucker and has no clear direct ties to the industry. However, she has been associated with the controversial Yellow Vest and Wexit Alberta movements. Because the funds are deposited directly into Lich’s bank account upon completion of the fundraiser, many worry about if the funds will be distributed properly and how the organizers will be held accountable.

We’ve written similar articles about these protests here.