I live in downtown Ottawa, right in the middle of the trucker convoy protest. They are literally camped out below my bedroom window. My new neighbours moved in on Friday and they seem determined to stay. I have read a lot about what my new neighbours are supposedly like, mostly from reporters and columnists who write from distant vantage points somewhere in the media heartland of Canada. Apparently the people who inhabit the patch of asphalt next to my bedroom are white supremacists, racists, hatemongers, pseudo-Trumpian grifters, and even QAnon-style nutters. I have a perfect view down Kent Street – the absolute ground zero of the convoy. In the morning, I see some protesters emerge from their trucks to stretch their legs, but mostly throughout the day they remain in their cabs honking their horns. At night I see small groups huddled in quiet conversations in their new found companionship. There is no honking at night. What I haven’t noticed, not even once, are reporters from any of Canada’s news agencies walking among the trucks to find out who these people are. So last night, I decided to do just that – I introduced myself to my new neighbours.
At 10pm I started my walk along – and in – Kent Street. I felt nervous. Would these people shout at me? My clothes, my demeanour, even the way I walk screamed that I’m an outsider. All the trucks were aglow in the late evening mist, idling to maintain warmth, but all with ominously dark interiors. Standing in the middle of the convoy, I felt completely alone as though these giant monsters weren’t piloted by people but were instead autonomous transformer robots from some science fiction universe that had gone into recharging mode for the night. As I moved along I started to notice smatterings of people grouped together between the cabs sharing cigarettes or enjoying light laughs. I kept quiet and moved on. Nearby, I spotted a heavy duty pickup truck, and seeing the silhouette of a person in the driver’s seat, I waved. A young man, probably in his mid 20s, rolled down the window, said hello and I introduced myself. His girlfriend was reclined against the passenger side door with a pillow to prop her up as she watched a movie on her phone. I could easily tell it’s been an uncomfortable few nights. I asked how they felt and I told them I lived across the street. Immediate surprise washed over the young man’s face. He said, “You must hate us. But no one honks past 6pm!” That’s true. As someone who lives right on top of the convoy, there is no noise at night. I said, “No, I don’t hate anyone, but I wanted to find out about you.” The two were from Sudbury Ontario, having arrived on Friday with the bulk of the truckers. I ask what they hoped to achieve, and what they wanted. The young woman in the passenger seat moved forward, excited to share. They said that they didn’t want a country that forced people to get medical treatments such as vaccines. There was no hint of conspiracy theories in their conversation with me, not a hint of racist overtones or hateful demagoguery. I didn’t ask them if they had taken the vaccine, but they were adamant that they were not anti-vaxers.
The next man I ran into was standing in front of the big trucks at the head of the intersection. Past middle age and slightly rotund, he had a face that suggests a lifetime of working outdoors. I introduced myself and he told me he was from Cochrane, Ontario. He also proudly pointed out that he was the block captain who helped maintain order. I thought, oh no, he might be the one person keeping a lid on things; is it all that precarious? I delicately asked how hard his job was to keep the peace but I quickly learned that’s not really what he did. He organized the garbage collection among the cabs, put together snow removal crews to shovel the sidewalks and clear the snow that accumulates on the road. He even has a salting crew for the sidewalks. He proudly bellowed in an irrepressible laugh “We’re taking care of the roads and sidewalks better than the city.” I waved goodbye and continued to the next block.
My next encounter was with a man dressed in dark blue shop-floor coveralls. A wiry man of upper middle age, he seemed taciturn and stood a bit separated from the small crowd that formed behind his cab for a late night smoke. He hailed from the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. He owned his own rig, but he only drove truck occasionally, his main job being a self-employed heavy duty mechanic. He closed his shop to drive to Ottawa, because he said, “I don’t want my new granddaughter to live in a country that would strip the livelihood from someone for not getting vaccinated.” He introduced me to the group beside us. A younger crowd, I can remember their bearded faces, from Athabasca, Alberta, and Swift Current Saskatchewan. The weather had warmed, and it began to rain slightly, but they too were excited to tell me why they came to Ottawa. They felt that they needed to stand up to a government that doesn’t understand what their lives are like. To be honest, I don’t know what their lives are like either – a group of young men who work outside all day with tools that they don’t even own. Vaccine mandates are a bridge too far for them. But again, not a hint of anti-vax conspiracy theories or deranged ideology.
I made my way back through the trucks, my next stop leading me to a man of East Indian descent in conversation with a young man from Sylvan Lake, Alberta. They told me how they were following the news of O’Toole’s departure from the Conservative leadership and that they didn’t like how in government so much power has pooled into so few hands.
The rain began to get harder; I moved quickly through the intersection to the next block. This time I waved at a driver in one of the big rigs. Through the rain it was hard to see him, but he introduced himself, an older man, he had driven up from New Brunswick to lend his support. Just behind him some young men from Gaspésie, Quebec introduced themselves to me in their best English. At that time people started to notice me – this man from Ottawa who lives across the street – just having honest conversations with the convoy. Many felt a deep sense of abuse by a powerful government and that no one thinks they matter.
Behind the crowd from Gaspésie sat a stretch van, the kind you often see associated with industrial cleaners. I could see the shadow of a man leaning out from the back as he placed a small charcoal BBQ on the sidewalk next to his vehicle. He introduced himself and told me he was from one of the reservations on Manitoulin Island. Here I was in conversation with an Indigenous man who was fiercely proud to be part of the convoy. He showed me his medicine wheel and he pointed to its colours, red, black, white, and yellow. He said there is a message of healing in there for all the human races, that we can come together because we are all human. He said, “If you ever find yourself on Manitoulin Island, come to my reserve, I would love to show you my community.” I realized that I was witnessing something profound; I don’t know how to fully express it.
As the night wore on and the rain turned to snow, those conversations repeated themselves. The man from Newfoundland with his bullmastiff, a young couple from British Columbia, the group from Winnipeg that together form what they call “Manitoba Corner ” all of them with similar stories. At Manitoba Corner a boisterous heavily tattooed man spoke to me from the cab of his dually pickup truck – a man who had a look that would have fit right in on the set of some motorcycle movie – pointed out that there are no symbols of hate in the convoy. He said, “Yes there was some clown with a Nazi flag on the weekend, and we don’t know where he’s from, but I’ll tell you what, if we see anyone with a Nazi flag or a Confederate flag, we’ll kick his fucking teeth in. No one’s a Nazi here.” Manitoba Corner all gave a shout out to that.
As I finally made my way back home, after talking to dozens of truckers into the night, I realized I met someone from every province except PEI. They all have a deep love for this country. They believe in it. They believe in Canadians. These are the people that Canada relies on to build its infrastructure, deliver its goods, and fill the ranks of its military in times of war. The overwhelming concern they have is that the vaccine mandates are creating an untouchable class of Canadians. They didn’t make high-falutin arguments from Plato’s Republic, Locke’s treatises, or Bagehot’s interpretation of Westminster parliamentary systems. Instead, they see their government willing to push a class of people outside the boundaries of society, deny them a livelihood, and deny them full membership in the most welcoming country in the world; and they said enough. Last night I learned my new neighbours are not a monstrous faceless occupying mob. They are our moral conscience reminding us – with every blow of their horns – what we should have never forgotten: We are not a country that makes an untouchable class out of our citizens.
Wow! I am so glad you took it on yourself to investigate your new neighbors.
Its encouraging to see that you stepped out of your comfort zone and were rewarded with the real truth about what the truckers are doing.
I can tell you from experience that these are the people that stand up when there are national emergencies and food and water and medical supplies are needed.
Many give unpaid time and miles to make sure people are helped in their time of need.
May your God go with you
Bravo David!
Every MP on the hill needs to read this.
Can I share?
Thank you for sharing your talent of the written word. So deliciously written.
Thank you David!
This story is like the rays of sun – warming the soul and giving hope.
God bless you and the peaceful warriors!
Thank you David!
This story is like the rays of the sun – warming the soul and giving hope!
God bless you and the peaceful warriors !
As an Albertan, a member of the ‘fringe minority who believes the wrong thing’ and a proud supporter of this protest I thank you for your courage. May God bless you.
David..greetings from the Kootenays BC. This is the best, from the heart, portrayal from a boots on the ground resident out there. Thank you .
I really was wondering if I was well anchored in my position. You know.. after hearing for so often that “the world is flat” and these “deniers” were out there solely to pilot our fleet over the edge..
It’s very important the hear their voices through yours and know they bring a view to our world we can’t get through zoom.
Thanks so much for turning your curiosity into action on behalf of the rebirth of freedom in our country. Well done!
Crying like a baby. From rual Ontario. In the last two years, I have experience the heartbreaking death of son, stillborn five days before due date. We weren’t allowed to have an indoor funeral, as funerals were banned. The graveside was capped at 10 people and that included the two grave diggers and the funeral home director. After myself and my husband and daughter, that left 4 extras who could attend. My husband’s parents were prohibited from crossing the border, as were our sisters and his brother. My one sister in Australia wasn’t even allowed to leave the country for any reason. I have never been angry at government before that day. But that day, I was angry. I was angry that the government could rip away any hope of comfort and the right of a respectable memorial service from my baby boy. I had missed weddings earlier in the year for the same reasons, had struggled to grocery shop as 1 per household, but not being allowed to have an indoor funeral was too much. The government should never have had this kind of control. And it didn’t stop there, it got worse and worse and worse. And with no end in site, the two weeks to flatten the curve turned into two years of chaotic governmental overreach. Thank you for interviewing the truckers and understanding why “we” are there. We just want our lives back. We want the freedom of our charter. Thank you for your article.
Thanks for reminding us how low we have sunk, by government decree. Sorry for your loss, I think you have described a ‘Kafka’-esque tyranny of totally wrong bureaucratic rules that are designed to dehumanize us. Your story is emblematic of so much.
Thank you for humanizing our heroes. Before the convoy we were scrambling looking for places to live where our children could be free. I have a pass but I don’t want to live in a country where the government gives you no choice and encourages hate. This is what real journalism is – boots on the ground speaking the truth. I hope this gets shared far and wide.
Thank you, this is the best thing I’ve read all week.
You sir, have a very nice writing style. Thanks for taking the time to visit your new ‘neighbours’ and for taking the time to write this up.
Thank you so much for sharing this and speaking and sharing the truth! Your a beautiful writer !
Thank you for the honesty in your report. I am proud of fellow Canadians who are standing up for others and making this sacrifice in Ottawa to call these behaviors out as being unCanadian and inconsistent with how we identify with one another. Some of us are unable to be there in person but we are 100% behind this message and these demands. All the protestors are asking for is a return of fundamental freedoms – movement, speech, medical autonomy, assembly, operating small businesses, etc.
Steps need to be taken so that these freedoms become enshrined once again such that leaders of the day realize that these are not up for negotiation. We must not trade freedom for the perception of safety and we must return to respecting the fundamental rights of all Canadians.
It’s all been said above. I’m still crying! And I’m so glad. I’m from the UK. The middle realms of society here are fast asleep still, and believing all that is said in the media. I hope your letter is read by millions. It will change everything. Thanks to the Truckers and to you for having the courage, the curiousity and the capacity for going out at night. Bravo to all of you.
Beautifully written. You gave the truckers a real sense of humanity. They sound like everyday people just standing up for their beliefs. Thank you for your article.
What a great way to wake up! This morning an email was sent and as I read it, I was so happy to find a true truth teller report! As I read your story, it was as if I was walking along with you. These Canadians that you spoke with are the majority of us. All we want is freedom to live and love one another. No divisiveness, and our country back….Canada the True North Strong and FREE! Thank you! I pray the Government listens!
Thanks David. You looked into the belly of the Beats & found a big heart. I am trying to share this as much as I can.
Thank you. We are being bombarded by MSM and govt lies out here. If you felt like going for a walk every night and keep us posted I would certainly follow. Well written, insightful, very Canadian!
Greetings from India… i have been following the Canadian Truckers protest from a few conservative US websites which are sympathetic to the truckers and understand why they are doing what they are doing.
I lived in the States quite a while back and visited Canada a couple of times.I remember dealing with friendly people including the immigration officer who let me on my second visit in even though I had the wrong visa
Its very sad to see what is going on in Canada.. not very different from the situation in the States where the Federal Government is busy bullying and “othering” its citizens as usual.
I can only hope that God will protect the truckers and what they are fighting for.
Honk honk (not at night). Nice account. Good on ya!
Wonderful stuff David. I picked up friends last Saturday morning and we drove up to the Herb’s staging area (I farm at Bainsville, ON). Then we drove to Ottawa and walked to The Hill. I’ve been an emotional wreck all week since then. Like you, I saw nothing but goodness, and it restored my faith in my fellow Canadians. Thank you so much for reporting truth, because there’s a critical need for that. Carry on and God bless. I hope to shake your hand some day.
What a beautifully written description of the hero’s who are standing strong for our freedoms. It finally brings me hope again to be a Canadian! I know several people there from Kelowna, BC.
I also know so many people who have packed up their families and moved away from our country to escape the oppression. I’m praying this comes to an end soon. Thank you for sharing, felt like I was there and brought tears to my eyes.
The truth so well researched by a brave and honest Canadian. Time to post this on every web site that we can. Bravo David Thank you
I cried when I read this article. I am a 59 year old Canadian from Dutch immigrants. Feeling dismissed by my siblings and friends for having followed my gut for 2 years, I searched for people with a similar experience. I found I was not alone but part of a large group of “lepers ” cast out of social gatherings, conversations and scorned by people holding an opposing view. But this movement of citizens from every walk of life, colour, creed (vaxxed or not), coming together to search for a resolution has given new hope to a nation who otherwise would have sat on their apologetic hands while waiting for somebody else to stand out. God bless the untouchables.
What a beautiful article of truth. Why can we not get people of the media to go out and actually speak to these people, instead of looking at a couple of bad apples in the crowd. The media and the government has condemned the whole convoy by the few, who could have had their own agendas to discredit the truckers. None are so blind as those who will not see. We shouldn’t be surprised, because if they actually printed the truth, they would lose their iron grip of control over Canadians.
It’s been incredibly troubling to see some of my fellow Canadians, folks who consider themselves “liberal”, “progressive”, “good” people, so actively engage in the dehumanization of those who make up, and support, the Freedom Convoy.
Our legacy media fails to inform us today. Thus, the relentless beat of propaganda plays a hand in the willingness of some to not understand what’s happening.
Thank you for taking the time to go beyond the click-bait outrage and the political rhetoric to show us the heart of matters. May our “leaders” do the same and do right by the people of Canada. All of us.
I am happy that people started to wake up to what is going on.
This protest is not about vaccines or masks or lockdowns specifically.
It is about the fact that this country has no laws anymore:
Any freedoms can be cancelled by one word from the medical officer – no proofs required.
Any person can be cancelled for disagreeing with main narrative. ANY!
I am biomedical engineer (M.S. in modelling body systems, 23 experience is different aspects of engineering related to design of medical equipment) and I was following the data from January 2020.
If you bother just to load the death data (ignoring all other things we were told) from Stats Canada from 2010 to 2021, normalize it by growth of population and adjust for increase in elderly you fill see an amazing thing: THERE WAS NO MEEDICAL EMERGENCY.
If you add to this properly made excess death graphs based on the tread-lines of previous years, you will find that the only period of the excess death was weeks 13-23 of 2020. And in summer 2020 we did not have lockdowns, vaccines, and masking was very limited. And the excess death was BELOW the level of flu season for years 2013,2015 and 2018 if data is normalized.
The only group which has visible excess death rate since June 2020 is 0-44 years old. And this age group has ~zero mortality from COVID.
I’ve done some work on Canadian excess mortality, and there is definitely a COVID-19 effect: https://maybury.ca/the-reformed-physicist/2021/02/08/covid-19-death-count/ Elderly people and those with specific comorbidity factors experienced an excess death rate which is true in Canada and throughout the world. That information should have been used in our policy playbook to a much greater extent.
Excellent reporting, David. Thank you for writing this. Your national anthem says that Canadians “stand on guard” to keep your country “glorious and free.” Well, it looks to me like you had a first-hand opportunity to meet some of those guardians of Canada, and they sound like the pick and flower of your country. As an American I couldn’t be more proud of the stand against tyranny taking place in Canada. I hope we can manage to find enough people with courage to do something equivalent here.
May God bless all of the Canadian truckers and the people supporting them, and guide your cause on to complete victory!
Thank you for sharing this story, the truth and for your courage to step outside your comfort zone to meet some wonderful Canadians from across our great country.
Thank You kind sir for telling the truth for telling as it is. God Bless you.
David, thank you for opening your heart and going for that walk! Your essay made me cry. I’m sure it is not easy living in Ottawa right now and it would be easier to just lash out. We’ve had 2 years of restrictions and so much negative fallout from those restrictions. Our freedoms have dwindled and there has been no end in sight and no hope that our freedoms would be restored. It took a bunch of salt of the earth courageous truckers to finally stand up for us. It would be amazing if someone in the main stream media would share your essay and get the word out that these are kind, decent people who just want to be heard. We need dialogue instead of hateful rhetoric and name calling. We need to end All of the mandates, move forward and heal from the traumas of the past 2 years. Ottawa citizens please be patient and encourage your mayor and the leader of this country to listen to the truckers. Let’s move forward and get back to our lives, find a humane way to protect the vulnerable and let’s start treating each other with respect again. Thank you again David and God Bless.
Loved your story. Thank you for putting in the effort to get to know some of the around you. Not very many people do that anymore.
Your story about the protest was better researched than any from cbc/legacy media.
Absolutely beautiful!!
Thankyou for giving voice to these genuine Canadian Truckers who are representing SO many of us across this beautiful land…..the True North, strong and FREE!
They are making our hearts swell, bringing tears to our eyes, and giving us Hope for the future of our children and grandchildren.
Finally, after 2 years of government overreach, we are proud to be Canadian again!
Thank you for taking the time to walk around and talk to the truckers. It saddens me to see the media and our Prime Minister slander the people and their actions. These are brave tax paying voters. They are Canadian citizens who’ve had enough. To think that our political leaders and the legacy media don’t bother to investigate before they slag the Freedom Convoy is depressing to say the least. You are a brave man and I wish more people from Ottawa would take the time to do what you did. I think the truckers are uniting Canada in a way that nothing else has.
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and compassion, and for speaking your truth and sharing what the truckers are saying. I’m so proud of all of you. I can not be in Ottawa for multiple reasons. I lost my livelihood because of the pandemic and I’m not vaccinated so have been living almost as if I were under house arrest in my home, until the time comes when I can’t pay the rent anymore. My gratitude for everyone who takes the time to think about what Canadians really stand for and who are willing to have calm and considerate conversation about their views, is great. Brainwashed people who are spewing hate and vitriol through social media to anyone who chooses not to be vaccinated for their own valid reasons, are a difficult bunch to deal with. I think about Jesus and try to lead with love, even though some days it’s really hard not to feel angry. I just want a new Prime Minister who cares about everyone and a new government who actually work for the people of Canada, and not to line their pockets and those of their friends. This country and this world really needs to change to shift the focus on humanity and what it means to be human.
We may end up with a new PM, but in the mean time he is creating a lot of national unity. Possibly the most ever seen.
These people have expressed exactly how my family feels here in the U.S. We are not anti-vaxxers in my house but we don’t feel the government should push a medical treatment, especially one that, prior to 1/6/2021, many said they would NEVER take. And one that has not been proven and is really still experimental. Vax if you want, but don’t force people to take it or else. Thank you for sharing this. I am so inspired by these Canadians for doing what we all need to do, stand up and let our voices be heard. And I am so glad you took that walk and really heard what they are saying. People are coming together, it’s the goverments who has divided us.
A beautiful piece of reportage about this most important movement. A movement that may spark something that will change the world and end this covid madness.
Bravo Ben, I am a grandma of 70 years old from Québec and i want to tell you that I love what you just wrote and fully agree with your appreciation of what’s happening now in Ottawa.
Great story. This is where the truth will often be found…on the ground floor.
I believe it’s the same all over the world.
Thanks for that piece. I will be sharing with all my followers. Also, I was not fooled by the mainstream media. Shame on them. What terrible misinformation they are peddling in the name of truth.
Beautiful and eloquently written. Thank you for trying to clear the fog of hateful rhetoric that has been purposely shrouded around these honest, loving people who are our fellow Canadians.
Thank you. Thank you for being willing to see. I have lived in both worlds – university and 20 years working in big tech – but I grew up in outport NL and I know that rough exteriors do not indicate the heart and intelligence that lie below the surface. My hair and beard are a match to yours but I wear a work shirt now and have returned to the sea. I think the wisdom you would find among the crew of the average fishing vessel would be just as surprising to most people. We are all Canadians and it’s time our government saw that again
From the bottom of my heart thank you for taking the time to visit and write about these brave men and women of the freedom convoy. You sir along with these truckers are what the heart of Canada is all about. Clearly the mainstream media are not our friends as this is a far different picture than what they are trying to portray.
Excellent article David. As someone who was born and raised in Ottawa I am truly embarrassed of this city and what it has become. The smug contempt of its citizens and outright lies being spun by our municipal leadership and the media whose job it is to objectively report on the story is downright disgusting. The sad reality is the average Ottawan would never do what you did; get off their lofty high horse and walk outside of their bubble amongst these people. It is far easier to simply cast judgement from afar while they have the luxury of earning a full pay cheque from the comforts of home.
This story moved me to tears. My husband and children were there last weekend and saw the exact same thing. You captured the hearts and minds of these people. Thank you for sharing it. May everyone have eyes to see and ears to hear the truth about this convoy.
Thank you for this insight in your current daily life during this craziness. I saw this on Twitter during my daily scroll through the news of Canada. I consider this a true well written story. For me, living in the Netherlands, ex-backpacking globetrotter, it is very hard and sad to see the country’s I traveled being downgraded to communist alike institutions. In the Netherlands most people are still in the narrative but it seems to turn slowly. These Trucks for freedom are definitely inspirational for the rest of the world. Good luck to us all, the truth will always persevere.
🇨🇦 🇳🇱 ✌️✌🏻✌🏼✌🏽✌🏾✌🏿
Thank you for writing this. There need to be people who bare witness to the truth and write it down for the record.
Thank you, David.
You have more decency, courage, and curiosity than 99% of our politicians and media.
Thank you so much for writing this! Reading from Calgary 🙂
Fabulous writing and brought tears to my eyes, really…
I’ve gone on to read other pieces you’ve posted here and I look forward to more❣️
Thanks for sharing, beautifully written.