Canadian Trucking Alliance condemns cross-country convoy protesting federal COVID-19 vaccination law

Thousands of transport truck drivers are driving across Canada in protest of federal vaccination mandates for cross-border travel — and it’s a move the Canadian Trucking Alliance is not behind.

According to OPP East Region, a slowdown was expected in the Pembroke area along Highway 17 eastbound to Ottawa on Sunday, January 23 as trucks were expected to drive through the area.

Windsor police tweeted on Saturday that it, too, was expecting a convoy to pass through and repeatedly travel on Huron Church Road until January 26.

About a week ago, a new federal policy stated that all truck drivers who cross the U.S.-Canadian border must be vaccinated to avoid testing requirements and a 14-day quarantine.

However, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) — a federation of provincial trucking associations — said in a statement Saturday that it did not support the method of protest that truck drivers had chosen to do.

“The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) does not support and strongly disapproves of any protests on public roadways, highways, and bridges,” the statement on its website said. “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 their disapproval over government policies are instead encouraged to hold an “organized, lawful event” on Parliament Hill, or contact their local MP, the alliance said.

What is not acceptable is disrupting the motoring public on highways and commerce at the border, it added.

“The Government of Canada and the United States have now made being vaccinated a requirement to cross the border. This regulation is not changing so, as an industry, we must adapt and comply with this mandate,” said CTApresident Stephen Laskowski. “The only way to cross the border, in a commercial truck or any other vehicle, is to get vaccinated.”

According to the CTA, 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.

A similar policy with the United States was implemented on Saturday, January 22.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to help with the costs of food, lodging and fuel. It has so far raised more than $2 million as of Sunday, January 23 through more than 27,000 donations.