Motorists should expect some delays on the drive home tomorrow afternoon on all highways across the region as protesting truckers roll through the area.
Dubbed the ‘freedom convoy’, truck drivers from across Canada departed from B.C. on Sunday and have been slowly making their way to Ottawa in a protest of a new rule requiring all truckers crossing the U.S. border into Canada to be vaccinated or else be subject to a 14 day quarantine upon returning to Canada. The convoy is scheduled to leave Windsor on Thursday at 5 a.m. and is expected to arrive in Kingston at 5 p.m. later that day.
The truckers are expected to spend the night in Kingston and then continue on to Ottawa on Friday where a protest is planned at Parliament Hill.
Police advise motorists to be prepared for potential slowdowns due to the increase of commercial motor vehicle traffic starting Thursday through Saturday on Hwy 401, Hwy 417, Hwy 17 and Hwy 416.
Reaction to the convoy has been mixed, with large shows of support in some areas seen from people waving flags from highway overpasses. A GoFundMe account has been established saying it intends to pay for truckers’ fuel, food and lodging has raised $4.7 million as of Tuesday.
Not all truckers are onboard with the protest however as the Canadian Trucking Alliance states it ‘strongly disapproves’ of protests on highways while adding the vast majority of the industry has been vaccinated.