OPP sends ‘strong safety warning’ to those gathering on overpasses for ‘Freedom Rally’ convoy as trucks pass through GTA

Thestar.com
Jan. 28, 2022

2:45 p.m. A convoy of truckers near Kitchener-Waterloo has slowed traffic in all lanes along the eastbound Highway 401 at the Conestoga walking bridge. Some trucks and cars are obviously part of the convoy, moving slower in the right hand lane (with flags/signs, flashing four-ways).

For more on the convoy in this area, visit the Record.

1:39 p.m.: Supporters are now congregated along Highway 401 at Keele Street, highway cameras show. Images captured by the cameras show police presence on the 401 eastbound, with supporters lining the side of the highway and Keele overpass. Both the eastbound and westbound onramps are currently closed, according to 511 Ontario.

The route from Windsor to Kingston, posted on the website canada-unity.com/bearhug

1:20 p.m.: Some trucks have arrived at the Bass Pro Shop parking lot at Vaughan Mills and are in a line to pick up the food. About ten to fifteen trucks are lined up, reports Olivia Bowden.

1 p.m.: A spokesperson for the OPP has issued a “strong safety warning” for those congregating in support of the convoy.

Supporters should be “extremely cautious and wary,” given possible icy conditions and the speed of traffic, the spokesperson told the Star by phone Thursday.

The spokesperson also cited the risk of a fall from an overpass and the danger of standing at the side of a highway while traffic proceeds at highway speeds.

1 p.m.: Near Vaughan Mills, much of the crowd has started to dissipate as organizers with megaphones have told everyone to clear out to make way for the convoy. All the food supplies have been moved to the road at the edge of the parking lot of Bass Pro where the trucks are expected to pass through. Many protestors have been standing outside for more than two hours.

12:10 p.m.: “We’re just letting everything play out in terms of where everyone congregates,” Tim Coderre, the Ontario organizer for Canada Unity, told the Star.

“At the end of the day, we’re all ending up at the same place at relatively the same time.”

The “Western prong,” coming from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, will converge in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., tonight, he said. On Friday morning, the western prong will begin their travels to Ottawa. Coderre did not provide an update about the third route.

Protesters move supplies and food as they await the arrive of the truckers near Vaughan Mills on Thursday.

12:00 p.m. The “Freedom Convoy” of truckers has hit Halton region and while hundreds of supporters are waving and holding signs, there are several disruptions to traffic as well, reports Torstar’s InsideHalton.com.

Both Halton Regional Police and the OPP are letting residents know of the impacts to traffic on the busy stretch of highways.

Among the areas impacted are Guelph Line and Highway 401, the QEW and Guelph Line and QEW and Trafalgar Road.

For InsideHalton’s coverage, click here.

11:50 a.m. Multiple routes of the trucking convoy are headed toward Ottawa. Organizers of the protest have plotted routes beginning from the west and east, as well as through Southern Ontario.

Protesters departing from Windsor, Sarnia, Niagara and Vaughan will all make their way through the GTA before heading on to Kingston, where they will converge with other protesters from around Canada, according to route details posted by organizers.

The group, known as Canada Unity, have referred to the convoy as a “bear hug” of Canada. A countdown timer on their website shows they anticipate all routes will arrive in Ottawa in two days.

People young and old braved the freezing winds to support the truckers. Hundreds of trucks and supporters filled the Bass Pro Shops parking lot in support of the trucker convoy making the way to Ottawa for Saturday.

11 a.m. As dozens streamed out of their cars to support a line of vehicles driving around the parking lot, it was clear the majority were personal vehicles and few were actual trucks.

Several protesters brought their children and were draped with Canadian flags, holding signs calling for “Freedom” or signs disparaging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They gleefully cheered about their “rights” while taking a photo with a large blow up sheep that a protester had brought into the parking lot.

10:55 a.m. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are reminding motorists to be aware of oncoming emergency vehicles in congested traffic, writing in a tweet that first responders have had some difficulty responding to emergencies.

10:36 a.m. Dozens of supporters have shown up outside Bass Pro Shops at Vaughan Mills mall in order to cheer on the convoy of truckers who are on their way to Ottawa to protest vaccine mandates. While about 85 per cent of the Canadian truckers who make regular border crossings to the US are vaccinated, this group has spoken out against mandates.

10:22 a.m. Supporters of the convoy have lined highway overpasses, carrying Canadian flags and posters in support of the truckers, stills captured by Ontario’s highway cameras show. In one such clip from the camera at the Centennial Parkway overpass on the QEW, supporters can be seen stretching down the length of the overpass. Supporters have congregated down the curb and parked their cars in the right lane. There are also reports supporters have started to gather near Vaughan Mills mall, where the convoy is expected to make a stop.

10 a.m. Starting Jan. 15, the federal government has required Canadian truckers to be fully vaccinated if they want to avoid a 14-day quarantine when they cross into Canada from the United States. Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated foreign national drivers will be directed back to the U.S.

Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has also announced that vaccination will become mandatory for workers in all federally regulated industries, though no timeline has been set.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance, which has denounced the convoy protest, says more than 85 per cent of the 120,000 Canadian truck drivers who regularly travel across the Canada-U.S. border are vaccinated, but that as many as 16,000 may be sidelined due to the new restriction.