The convoy of truckers protesting a COVID-19 vaccine mandate will move out of Southwestern Ontario on Thursday morning.
The self-described “Freedom Convoy” will make its way from Windsor to Kingston before heading to Friday’s protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa Friday.
The vaccine mandate went into effect for cross-border truckers in Canada on January 15. A similar rule went into effect for truckers in the U.S. on January 22. Truck drivers crossing the border into Canada need to be fully vaccinated to avoid testing and quarantine requirements.
According to The Canadian Trucking Alliance, vaccination rates among truck drivers mirror the general public, but some 12,000 still haven’t gotten their shots.
On its website, the alliance said it did not support the protest because it is “not how disagreement with government policies should be expressed.”
So far, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resisted calls from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition to delay the mandate or reverse it altogether.
The convoy will leave the Husky station on County Road 46 in Windsor at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. From there, it will travel eastbound on Hwy. 401 to the Esso station on Bloomfield Road in Chatham-Kent, just off Hwy. 401, before heading to the Flying J Travel Centre on Highbury Avenue South in London.
Provincial police are telling motorists on the highway to expect delays.
OPP are advising motorists to expect delays due to a Commercial Motor Vehicle demonstration travelling through West Region via #Hwy401 and #Hwy402 tomorrow. The #OPP‘s top priority is public safety & the orderly flow of traffic. Expect delays & please be patient. #Thankyou ^ pic.twitter.com/WCmrpviSKV
— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) January 26, 2022
Truck drivers expect to arrive in Kingston by 5 p.m. on Thursday.
The protest on Parliament Hill is expected to attract truckers from across Canada on Friday.
A GoFundMe campaign raised $5.3-million before the company froze it until it can complete an investigation into how the money will be spent. Organizers said it would help truck drivers pay for fuel, lodging, and food along the way.
