'RESTRICTIONS REALLY HINDER US': Truckers feel the love at Vaughan Mills

Torontosun.com
Jan. 28, 2022

Thousands gathered at Vaughan Mills to cheer, honk horns and wave flags in support of truckers opposed to a federal cross-border vaccine mandate.

DeAndre Mahapeo, who has been long-haul trucking for the past 12 years to places such as Florida and Las Vegas, called the support “indescribable.”

“It just melts your heart,” Mahapeo said, looking at the crowd in attendance.

“(Trucking) is my livelihood. It is what I do to provide for my family and keep the heat on in my house and food on the table,” he added.

Mahapeo said he came south from Barrie, but signage on his truck read Landstar Express America. It had Indiana plates because he works so much in the U.S. and has a base there.

“That’s where I make most of my money,” Mahapeo said. “The restrictions really hinder us. I haven’t been out on the road since (restrictions) were put in this place.”

As Mahapeo sat at the helm idling in the frigid conditions, his passenger seat kept filling up with food and donations. He was even given a small teddy bear emblazoned with an American flag on its chest.

A lot of the protesters were there to voice their opinions on topics such as firearms, schools, lockdowns and their disdain for federal and provincial leaders.

The place was abuzz with drones whirring above the bridges and parking lot at Vaughan Mills, all under the watchful eye of a York Regional Police helicopter.

Many people brought homemade flags with statements critical of Trudeau.

Miroslav Fabinski was all smiles as he sat in his rig in the lineup with pickups and cars.

“I think this is a wonderful idea. There should be much more people -- the entire of Canada,” Fabinski said.

Asked about his vaccination status, he said he isn’t jabbed and then said “nobody wants to release any data about it.”

As he spoke, he was drowned out by crowds around his truck who kept chanting “freedom, freedom!”

The event got ugly at times when some convoy supporters became aggressive toward journalists. A Canadian Press photographer claimed he was “spat on,” “shoved” and “yelled at.”

The convoys were coming through the GTA from Windsor, Sarnia, Barrie and parts of northern Ontario to join in and lend support.

Hundreds of people lined the Bass Pro Mills Dr. over Hwy. 400 to cheer on truckers. A couple thousand protestors/supporters were on hand at Vaughan Mills shopping centre to show their support for a large group of truckers taking part in the anti-vaccination Canada-U.S. border mandate on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022.

Those in attendance said they came from the surrounding areas such as Vaughan, Keswick, Barrie and even as far away as Timmins.

Inside and outside the far end of the mall, some shoppers didn’t even know there was a rally going on and went about their shopping.