Last week, Canada was on the scene of a big protest about the Covid 19 vaccine restrictions for truck drivers. The rebellion took place in the Parliament in Ottawa, and, on Tuesday, it was on the border between Canada and the U.S.
The exemptions for Canadian truckers on the COVID-19 vaccine requirements to re-enter the country by land ended last January 22nd and now truckers who are not vaccinated cannot enter the country. For that reason, they created the movement called Freedom Convoy 2022, an ongoing protest against those restrictions.
According to the Canadian Truck Alliance, 85% of the 120,000 Canadian truck drivers are vaccinated already. On Monday, Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau pointed out that the “small fringe minority of people in the convoy does not represent the views of Canadians”.
Briggite Belton, an Ontario Owner- Operator who moves cargo between the U.S and Canada has declared: “I’m literally going to lose my truck, my house, my car, my savings and live in a cardboard box”. She and the rest of the members of the convoy are still questioning the vaccination.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers have begun an enforcement action targeting a blockade of commercial trucks and other vehicles at the U.S.-Canada border in Coutts, Alberta, that have been protesting COVID-19 restrictions since Saturday.
The Platform GoFundMe has paused donations to truck drivers. Those donations reached 7.9 million dollars by Wednesday afternoon. The decision came after the suggestion of legal action against the platform. “This fundraiser is currently paused and under review to ensure it complies with our terms of service and applicable laws and regulations,” is the message found on the Freedom Convoy donation page.