The situation in Canada is heating up as the Freedom Convoy is growing in Ottawa. Truck drivers all across Canada are protesting vaccine mandates and the vaccine passport that Canadian truckers must show in order to return to Canada. Canadian protesters arrived in Ottawa on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. They have yet to leave the city and claim that they will not leave until Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, acknowledges their protest and removes the mandate. The convoy leader, BJ Dichter, has claimed that the protest leaders arrived in Ottawa earlier than the main convoy. When they arrived, there were already hundreds of non-truck driving protesters in Ottawa from Quebec and Ontario. Quebec is a Canadian province that speaks French, while Ontario speaks English. However, the convoy has seemingly breached the language barrier as it’s been reported that protesters seem to be bonding even between two provinces that have historically had populations that don’t get along.

The convoy is protesting the vaccine mandate and the vaccine passport. The vaccine mandate is in effect in Canada and requires all Canadian citizens to be vaccinated against the COVID. The vaccine passport is a documentation strategy that requires drivers to download an app on their phones that tracks their vaccination status and will not let them cross the border into Canada until they have met the vaccination requirements. This means that if they cross the border into America and need a booster shot, they have to wait to get a COVID test and then a booster shot to travel back into Canada finally. Trudeau has acknowledged a plan to allow Canadian drivers to enter the United States and re-enter Canada without being vaccinated and withhold them from testing. However, he has stated that Canada will still require United States drivers to be fully immunized against COVID and show proof of vaccination when crossing the border. This decision has yet to go into effect as of the writing of this article.

Trudeau tweeted about the convoy condemning the “Antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, homophobia, and transphobia that we’ve seen on display in Ottawa.” However, little has been reported about these protesters. The Canadian media has claimed sightings of Swastikas; however, no images have surfaced. Jay Knudson, a Canadian from Winnipeg, said, “Those (Canadian truckers) don’t seem to be the only people protesting, though since there have been sightings of Swastikas and other things that aren’t related to the main reason at all”. Sightings of Confederate flags have also been reported, and a few pictures have surfaced of a man holding a Confederate flag with a 16 wheeler in the center. This man has not been identified, and the man’s intentions are not known. Knudson had also said, “I mainly see people that just want to stand against vaccine mandates.” The news in Canada is in high opposition to the movement. Many claim this is because the leading news channels in Canada, like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), are federally owned and paid for by the government.

The Canadian Protests have heavily Affected the United States. The automobile industry has been all but halted in light of the blockade that Canadians have formed on the Ambassador Bridge. The Ambassador Bridge connects Ontario to Michigan, which so happens to be the car manufacturing capital of the United States. The Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor North America have been experiencing parts shortages from Canada and have been struggling to produce vehicles. General Motors claimed they are now operating at standard rates, although they were experiencing shortages earlier in the week when the bridge had first closed. The situation is predicted to raise the prices of new vehicles on top of their current elevated costs due to supply issues from Taiwan. Truck Driver, Dave Childs, said, “I think my company is handling the situation alright, but other companies need to do what they do to keep workers and get supplies out as quickly as possible to keep up with supply and demand.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/06/world/americas/canada-trucker-protest-ottawa.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/world/canada/ottowa-truck-driver-protest-timeline.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-08/trudeau-jabs-at-tories-says-ottawa-trucker-protest-must-end
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/who-is-who-a-guide-to-the-major-players-in-the-trucker-convoy-protest-1.5776441
https://www.foxnews.com/media/independent-journalists-talks-to-over-100-canadian-truckers