In what is arguably a record-breaking way to challenge government tyranny, a convoy of Canadian truckers is making its way to the nation’s capital of Ottawa to protest COVID vaccine mandates.
The demonstration has been named the “Freedom Convoy” and began in Vancouver on Sunday. It is expected to reach Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Saturday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blasted the protestors as a “fringe minority” with “unacceptable views” that do not represent the way most Canadians feel.
Trudeau is currently isolating at home after being exposed to someone at COVID — despite having a negative test — making him conveniently unavailable when the convoy is scheduled to reach the capital.
The Freedom Convoy has raised more than C$7 million through a GoFundMe campaign to fight the mandate and help with costs of fuel, food and lodgings.
Organizers of the campaign said:
[…] The time for political over reach is over. Our current government is implementing rules and mandates that are destroying the foundation of our businesses, industries and livelihoods. Canadians have been integral to the fabric of humanity in many ways that have shaped the planet.
We are a peaceful country that has helped protect nations across the globe from tyrannical governments who oppressed their people, and now it seems it is happening here. We are taking our fight to the doorsteps of our Federal Government and demanding that they cease all mandates against its people. Small businesses are being destroyed, homes are being destroyed, and people are being mistreated and denied fundamental necessities to survive. It’s our duty as Canadians to put an end to this mandates. It is imperative that this happens because if we don’t our country will no longer be the country we have come to love. We are doing this for our future Generations and to regain our lives back.
On Tuesday, the Freedom Convoy 2022 campaign hit a roadblock when GoFundMe refused to disperse funds until the organizer “presented a clear plan” for how the funds would be spent.
Of course, the company did not touch campaigns like, “Hunter’s face tattooed on Tyler’s buttocks,” fundraisers for breast implants and Black Lives Matters or the plethora of campaigns organized to raise expenses for pet funerals.
The organizer of the campaign for the trucker convoy withdrew an initial $1 million from the funds raised on Thursday, GoFundMe confirmed.
The trucking industry is vital to Canada’s consumer goods industry. Two-thirds of Canada’s C$650 billion ($521 billion) in goods traded annually between Canada and the United States utilize truck drivers, who are required to be vaccinated to cross the border.