‘Freedom Convoy’ rolling its way east out of Saskatchewan

Hundreds of people left a truck stop in Balgonie on Tuesday morning with a goal of making it to Ottawa by the weekend.

They’re involved with the Freedom Convoy 2022, a protest focused on bringing an end to a cross-border vaccine mandate requiring all truckers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

People from across Canada have joined the convoy for the journey, while some people in Saskatchewan lined up along roads, overpasses and bridges to shout their support or watch with curiosity at the hundreds of vehicles rolling through.

Mike Ritchie is a former pilot from Calgary who joined the convoy on its trek to Ottawa.

While many in attendance are against mandates, some people like Ritchie are against vaccines altogether.

“I have learned a lot about epidemiology, toxicology, pathology and virology. I know the jab is bad for you,” Ritchie said with confidence. “My doctor absolutely forbid me to take it. So I’m not flying, and I’m fighting for freedom.

“We’re fighting for a free country. We’re fighting for our rights. If you believe in the Constitution, then you believe in what we’re doing.”

Ritchie says he has done much of his own research, and the choice of either getting vaccinated and keeping his job or following his beliefs and views made for an easy decision for him to make.

“This is the most important thing in the world. This is people’s lives. People are being lied to,” he said when asked why this was so important to him. “The virus doesn’t even exist anymore. It’s two years into it. The original coronavirus doesn’t exist.

“People (have) got to wake up. They’ve got to understand. Nobody seems to understand the science.”

A vehicle preparing to drive to Ottawa from Balgonie on Jan. 25, 2022. (Logan Stein/980 CJME)

Ritchie wasn’t the only person from Calgary excited to get to Ottawa.

Mark McWhirter spoke highly of what he is calling a “unified” group of people with a motive.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, we are doing this as one unified nation,” he said as he filled up his vehicle with fuel. “This is not about a vaccine protest. This is way bigger than a vaccine protest.”

For Chris Fraser, getting up to drive his truck across the country is nothing new after spending 30 years in the trucking industry.

The reason why he’s driving to Ottawa alongside hundreds of other trucks — and without a shipment — is new.

“We’re going to Parliament Hill and we’re not leaving until we get what we want,” Fraser said Tuesday on Gormley.

Fraser said the drive is not about whether someone is vaccinated or unvaccinated, but rather that people should be able to choose for themselves whether they wish to get vaccinated or not.

He said people should be allowed to disagree.

“I don’t force my opinion on you, you don’t force your opinion on me,” Fraser said.

Some people said they were not impressed with the Canadian Trucking Alliance’s decision to not support the convoy. McWhirter believes the alliance has lost all its credibility as a result of not backing the protest.

“We’ve got the Canadian alliance for truckers right here; you’re going to see it across the nation,” he said as he pointed to the semis lined up along the highway. “So what a corporation tells you is not necessarily what’s happening.”

The CTA issued a statement Saturday condemning the protest sweeping through the country, calling it disruptive.

“The vast majority of the Canadian trucking industry is vaccinated with the overall industry vaccination rate among truck drivers closely mirroring that of the general public,” the statement read. “Accordingly, most of our nation’s hard-working truck drivers are continuing to move cross-border and domestic freight to ensure our economy continues to function.

“The Canadian Trucking Alliance does not support and strongly disapproves of any protests on public roadways, highways, and bridges. CTA believes such actions — especially those that interfere with public safety — are not how disagreements with government policies should be expressed.

“Members of the trucking industry who want to publicly express displeasure over government policies can choose to hold an organized, lawful event on Parliament Hill or contact their local MP. What is not acceptable is disrupting the motoring public on highways and commerce at the border.”

People cheering on the convoy of trucks heading to Ottawa (Freedom Convoy 2022/Facebook)

Fraser said some of the trucks in the convoy travelled to Regina along Highway 16 while others traversed the Trans-Canada Highway.

Trucks from B.C. started the convoy, travelling into southern Alberta. Groups from Prince George drove down through Edmonton to join with trucks coming from Fort McMurray before heading to Calgary.

When asked about possible disruptions to the supply chain with so many truck drivers tied up in the drive to Ottawa, Fraser admitted there might be some slowdowns.

“I haul oil for a living, so I mean, yeah, the oil will stop flowing,” he said.

However, he said people have known for a number of weeks that this convoy was coming and have thus been stocking up for possible shortages.

After leaving Balgonie, the convoy is to make its way through Manitoba before stopping in Kenora, Ont., for the night.

McWhirter is hopeful the support the convoy received in Saskatchewan will continue in Manitoba and Ontario.

“The amount of support that we’ve seen in Regina was absolutely amazing last night, and all throughout every small town in Saskatchewan was just absolutely incredible,” he said. “It brought tears to our eyes. People, we’re doing this for our children.”