COVID-19: B.C. truckers participate in cross-country 'freedom convoy' to protest vaccine mandate

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The Canadian Trucking Alliance estimates the federal vaccine requirement could take 10 to 15 per cent — about 12,000 to 16,000 — of truck drivers off the road.

Hundreds of truckers are set to roll out of Metro Vancouver Sunday on a cross-country convoy to the nation’s capital to protest a federal vaccine mandate for truck drivers.

Big rigs have departed northern B.C. for the drive south, where they will gather at the Nordel weigh scale in Delta early Sunday before the trek to Ottawa, the destination for the so-called Convoy for Freedom 2022.

“We’ll all be in radio contact — trucks leave first, everyone else second,” said Sean Tiessen, a truck driver from Grand Forks. “There’ll be lots of honking, lots of garnering support and making noise and spreading the love.”

Tiessen, who has been driving rigs for 23 years, will be behind the wheel of his own vehicle because he was unable to start his winter job hauling lumber across the border due to the vaccine requirement.

“I can work elsewhere in the industry that doesn’t involve crossing the border, but I’m not taking it anymore,” he said.

Tiessen said he knows of many truckers who have been sidelined due to the restriction, and believes taking them off the road at a time when there is a driver shortage will exacerbate existing supply chain problems. “It’ll negatively impact inflation and the availability of goods.”

His goal, he said, is to get Ottawa to get rid of vaccine mandates, not just for truckers, but also for nurses and other workers required to get jabbed in order to keep their jobs.

“Let’s get everyone back to work and get rid of this discriminatory, divisive rhetoric going around,” Tiessen said.

The federal mandate for truck drivers, which came into effect Jan. 15, requires Canadian drivers returning to Canada be vaccinated in order to avoid quarantining. U.S. truckers who are unvaccinated will not be allowed entry. The U.S. is set to enforce similar rules starting Saturday.

Prior to last week’s mandate, Canada had deemed truck drivers an essential service and granted them an exemption from border restrictions.

The Liberal government is standing firm on the policy, which it says is meant to protect truck drivers and the U.S.-Canadian supply chain.

“One of the biggest threats to our supply chain is indeed the pandemic and the best tool to end the fight against this virus is vaccination,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told the National Post last week .

Tiessen estimates about 500 trucks from B.C. will join the rally, which is scheduled to meet in Ottawa on Jan. 29. By that time, he expects there’ll be around 5,000 to 10,000 trucks from across the country, and thousands more drivers and supporters.

A GoFundMe page set up to help drivers cover expenses like fuel, food and lodgings during the journey has raised more than $1.6 million.

According to the Canadian Trucking Alliance, vaccination rates in the industry are around 83 to 87 per cent. The vaccine requirement could take 10 to 15 per cent — about 12,000 to 16,000 — of truck drivers off the road, it warned.

On Saturday, the industry group said it does not support protests that would block or disrupt roads and highways or interfere with public safety.

The Canadian and U.S. governments already have their policies in place, said president Stephen Laskowski in a statement. “This regulation is not changing so, as an industry, we must adapt and comply with this mandate. The only way to cross the border, in a commercial truck or any other vehicle, is to get vaccinated.”

chchan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/cherylchan

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