Here is a running look at what’s happening with Canada’s Freedom Convoy 2022. The Freedom Convoy 2022, which began on January 22, 2022, is an ongoing protest spearheaded by Canadian truckers, which aims to bring an end to government-mandated vaccines and compel the federal government to uphold and enforce all Canadian and International Human Rights laws. On January 29, 2022, truck convoys converged on Ottawa, Canada’s capital city. Up until the time of this writing, the protest—estimated by some to number in the hundreds of thousands of attendees at times—continues.
UPDATE 1, February 1, 2022:
Rebel News is reporting that Canadian truckers have told police that they need to have their “superiors” come and negotiate with them directly to have them clear out their vehicles from Ottawa. The police have said they will deliver the truckers’ message to their superiors. The police have also said they are going to start “enforcement action” if the truckers don’t move their vehicles, which entails arresting people, as well as impounding and seizing vehicles.
UPDATE 2, February 2:
Rebel News is now reporting that farmers with their tractors have joined the truck blockades on Highway 4 near the Coutts border crossing in Southern Alberta. (As the Edmonton Journal reports, a truck convoy supporting protesters in Ottawa held a rally near the Alberta legislature.) The farmers joined the truckers after the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) decided to end negotiations with the truckers.
The Western Standard is also reporting that many tow truck companies are refusing to help the RCMP remove the trucks. Alberta’s City Wide Towing and Recovery Services is, however, helping the RCMP.
UPDATE 3, February 6, 2022:
GoFundMe, which was serving as the fundraising platform for the Freedom Convoy, said on February 4 that “Following a review of relevant facts and multiple discussions with local law enforcement and city officials, this fundraiser is now in violation of [the platform’s] Terms of Service (Term 8, which prohibits the promotion of violence and harassment) and has been removed from the platform.”
UPDATE 3.1
In response to GoFundMe pulling the truckers’ campaign, Elon Musk posted a meme referring to the fundraising platform as “professional thieves.” Musk also called out GoFundMe for having a double-standard in regards to its allowance of its CHOP protestors to use its platform for funding:
UPDATE 3.2
One hundred partisans on horseback have arrive at the blockade in Alberta (Radio-Canada/CBC Video Journalist Axel Tardieu posted the video on February 5.)
UPDATE 3.3
The Truckers for Freedom Twitter account reports that “Canadian officials are imposing more tyrannical measures from midnight tonight, police will be cutting off the fuel supply to the convoy for freedom, anyone bringing petrol diesel even gas, will be charged with ‘assisting an illegal activity.'”
UPDATE 3.4
Truckers for Freedom noted in a tweet that “The convoy has lawyers, cops will be sued if they block fuel.”
Below is a list of 16 exciting moments from the protest so far:
1. An aerial view of a convoy of truckers making its way toward Ottawa. The Canadian national anthem, “O Canada,” plays over the video. (Posted by @aginnt)
2. Footage of the Freedom 2022 Convoy paired with the Twisted Sister song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” from 1984. The video shows the convoy stretched out over multiple miles, as far as the eye can see. Canadians waving flags and signs calling for freedom line the roads, cheering the truckers on. (Posted by @ArtValley818_)
3. A video of the protest in Ottawa, with attendees gathered around Parliament Hill; an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River that’s home to the Parliament of Canada. Canadians wave flags, and signs that read “United Non Compliance” and “Freedom Is Essential.” Honking from thousands of trucks blares throughout the city. (Posted by @MichaelPSenger)
4. Canadians line the streets and overpasses as they welcome the Freedom Convoy 2022. (Posted by @ElectionWiz)
5. A group of several dozen truckers and other Freedom Convoy 2022 attendees say the Lord’s Prayer. (Posted by kiansimone44)
6. An aerial view of what looks to be tens of thousands of attendees (or more) at the Freedom Convoy 2022 rally in Ottawa. Note there is no counter-protest force, clearly showing the will of the people favors freedom. (Posted by @Lukewearechange)
7. Canadians in trucks and on the streets make an extraordinary cacophony with horn blasts, yelling, and cheering. Toward the end of the video a tractor pulling signs that read “Go Truckers Go!” and “No Vax-Pass No Mandates,” rolls down the street. (Posted by @MichaelPSenger)
9. Canadian truckers honk in a blaring chorus of sound as a Canadian flag is raised into the air by a crane. (Posted by @FrankGrimes_Jr)
10. A store owner in New Brunswick showing off stickers he made to support the Freedom Convoy. He slices a medical mask in half, noting “the mask here is over.” Subsequently, the owner rips down the sign on his door that warns masks are obligatory, replacing it with his own Freedom Convoy one. (Posted by @EzraKahan)
11. Two photos from the Freedom Convoy 2022 rally in Ottawa posted by Rupa Subramanya, an author and National Post columnist. Subramanya, who’s also written for the Wall Street Journal and Foreign Policy, notes that “Lots of folks [at the rally] from Montreal and other places in Quebec in support of the convoy. Met many folks of colour like Kamal here who roll their eyes at the notion that everyone gathered here is a white supremacist.”
Indeed, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said in September of 2018 that “By 2016, almost one in five (17.8%) of Canada’s truck drivers had South Asian backgrounds. One in three drivers in B.C. (34.6%) were from the demographic group, as were one in four (25.6%) of Ontario drivers.” The CTA added that “In Vancouver, South Asian immigrants now account for the majority (55.9%) of drivers. The share in Toronto is not far behind at 53.9%.” (Posted by @rupasubramanya)
12. Elon Musk shares a meme highlighting the Freedom Convoy 2022 rally. Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla—who, unlike Bill Gates, is a good billionaire—has tweeted out multiple messages of support for the Freedom Convoy. “If the government had the mandate of the people, there would be a significant counter-protest,” Musk wrote in one tweet. “There is not, therefore they do not.” He also wrote in a standalone tweet: “Canadian truckers rule.”
13. A video showing a convoy of trucks blocking off the Alberta border crossing between the United States and Canada. (Posted by @JackPosobiec)
14. A Freedom Convoy 2022 attendee from Alberta yells out over blaring truck horns that “Canada is saying enough is enough. I saw hundreds of thousands of Canadians, literally every step of the way…[they’re] just standing there and saying ‘please, fight the future of our children. Please for our freedoms.’ And Canada is united.” (Posted by @TPostMillennial)
15. Another rave from the Freedom Convoy 2022 rally in Ottawa. On a night in late January, a crowd of attendees gathers around a music system blasting house music. A man in a bright orange safety outfit tears up the dance floor in the foreground; in the background, a sign on the side of a truck reads “Fuck Trudeau.” (Posted by @_labour_first)
As of February 1, 2022, the Freedom Convoy GoFundMe account had raised more than $9.5 million dollars to aid the protest. Contrary to some media reports, the account’s key fundraisers, Tamara Lich and B.J. Dichter, say GoFundMe has not halted their ability to draw funds from the account.
The truckers have put forth an MOU, or “Memorandum of Understanding,” for the federal government to sign. The MOU reads, in part:
“By having the Senate of Canada and the Governor General of Canada sign this MOU into action, they agree to immediately cease and desist all unconstitutional, discriminatory and segregating actions and human rights violations. It calls for an immediate instruction to all levels of the Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal governments to not only stop but furthermore waive all SARS-CoV-2 (and not limited to SARS-CoV-2 subsequent variations) fines that have been issued and imposed upon its citizens, institutions, and private enterprises. Further, to immediately re-instate all employees in all branches of all levels of governments and not limited to promote the same to the private industry and institutional sectors employees with full lawful employment rights prior to wrongful and unlawful dismissals. Lastly it instructs all levels of government and private Sector that the illegal use of a Vaccine Pass port to cease and desist immediately.”
Additional Exciting Moment:
Truckers sing the Canadian national anthem as they continue their blockade in Alberta.
Feature image: Chickadee DeeDee
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