Please view/click videos below for interview and video of protest
Interview with truck driver from Cobourg company
View of protest throughout the day on Saturday, February 5, 2022
Parliament protest with a purpose or city under siege – you decide.
Today’s Northumberland spent six hours in Ottawa on Saturday, February 5, 2022 trying to get a better grasp of the situation.
Since the Freedom Convoy arrived in Ottawa on January 29, 2022 the streets near parliament have been clogged or have come to a complete standstill.
Transport drivers drove across Canada from all directions descending on the Nations Capitol as one unified group to protest not only the COVID mandates, but as one local trucker stated, it’s more than COVID.
Brendon Brown is from Roseneath and is a driver with Cobourg owned McCracken Hauling Inc. has been there from the start along with two other big rigs from the company.
The scene on the streets where the protest is happening is nothing short of jubilant – at least from the protestors side.
Premier Doug Ford and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has stated, it’s gone from a protest to a occupation of the city.
The grasp of the protest stretches far beyond Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill.
For blocks around Parliament Hills roads are blocked by police. Police from across Ontario. Today’s Northumberland saw officers from Sudbury, Durham Region, Ontario Provincial Police and Ottawa Police patrolling on foot and blocking off roads.
Speaking to a number of officers, police stated the crowd has been well behaved all through the week.
One officer said the number of people walking around on Saturday is double to the amount that was there when the convoy arrived a week ago.
Another said it was comparable to Canada Day celebrations. The only difference is this group is spread out a lot more, not just converging on Parliament Hill.
Politicians have implored people to stay away – they haven’t.
On Saturday, it looked more like Canada Day celebrations than a protest. People carrying, waving Canadian flags clearly outnumbered people with protest signs.
People of all ages arrived to protest their displeasure with COVID regulations.
Children with their parents to people in wheelchairs were trying to navigate through holding flags or signs.
At Bank Street and Wellington Street, there were a number of children’s activities including inflatable bouncy castles to enjoy.
Transports lined side-by-side as far as a person could see down Wellington Street in front of Parliament.
There were a number of speakers, and singers in support of the protest throughout the day on one transport. Most times they were drowned out by the transport horns.
A person with a megaphone was shouting “delete your vac pass and get a free joint.”
While another person holding a bag of joints was handing them out.
There were a number of food stations along the streets including one on Bank Street. In the morning they were serving up eggs, hash browns and sausages to people all free of charge.
The operator told Today’s Northumberland that the food has been donated.
“We have a trailer still full of food. People keep rolling in with donations and we’re just cooking what shows up.”
“Everybody’s been super nice, super supportive. A lot of people have come back multiple times because we’re cooking different things. It’s awesome to see.”
Only being on site for six hours, there wasn’t a time when the horns were not heard either on Wellington Streets or side streets.
Along Wellington Street in front of Parliament, the sound tended to dissipate with the open space. But on side roads with buildings on both sides of the street, the sound echoed.
The mood of everyone in attendance was happy, jovial and united.
When a person would yell, “Freedom” others would join in.
Signs plastered the fence along Parliament Hill in support of the truckers.
Transports has message of support on the cabs of their trucks from many children and adults.
The Terry Fox statue which made headlines across Canada when a upside down Canadian flag and other items were put on and around it has been cleaned
Bouquets of flowers and Canadian flags rest at the base of the Fox statue.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier/War Memorial is now fenced off after a person stood on the memorial and shouted “freedom” before stepping down seconds later.
Flowers and messages are along the perimeter of the fence.
As darkness fell a number of fireworks were set off in areas of the protest. People stood around open flames trying to warm themselves.
In at least three different areas all along Wellington Street, dance music played and people danced in the streets.
On Parliament, a Santa Claus was even dancing to the music while a person was clearing the sidewalk.
Brendon Brown from Roseneath has his truck and trailer on the east side of Parliament at the corner of Rideau Street and Colonel By Drive, just east of the Fairmont Chateau Laurier since arriving a week ago.
Today’s Northumberland spoke with Brown in-depth about his thoughts and experience of the protest.
Arriving last week in Ottawa around 1:30 p.m., Brown said the amount of people, the amount of trucks was “unbelievable.”
“There was all sorts of support. Every bridge, every overpass you see, sides of the highway, ramps were just lined with people to no end.”
Waiting for answers from the government for the week, Brown said it’s been an emotional roller coaster with so many people in support, but also said it’s been long and boring.
“We’ve been waiting for answers. There is a lot of truck drivers here for the right reasons.”
Brown adds that although the vast majority of there for the right reasons, he says they may not all be there for the right reasons.
“We feel like we’ve been held hostage in Canada.”
“We’d like to be heard. We’d like some answers. What those answers are going to be – nobody knows.”
“The way that we feel in the trucking industry is that something has to change in Canada.”
Truckers shouldn’t be forced to take the vaccine said Brown.
“That could go on for hours. There is hundreds of different thoughts and opinions on that.”
Brown said the carbon tax is something that will put some truckers out of business.
“It’s outrageous.”
McCracken’s signed contracts a few years predicting fuel would be $1.30 a litre at the end of the five year contract.
“Our average fuel price for the month of December was $1.61 a litre for diesel fuel.”
“It’s going to corrupt some small trucking businesses. They just won’t be able to afford to keep going.”
Brown said the government isn’t treating truck drivers with the respect they should be given.
“I feel as if we should be essential to every asset that Canada has to offer.”
For the solution to the trucker protest in Ottawa, Brown is almost at a loss for words, but said the government needs to listen.
“We definitely can’t solve it by watching fireworks and people dancing around our trucks. That’s not going to do anything. I don’t know what the actual answer is to that.”
When first arriving in Ottawa, Brown was in a residential area and said he certainly feels for the people living in the areas that are affected.
“Of course we feel for the people. Everybody is here for the right reason that’s in a truck I believe.”
For nearly two days after arriving Brown was on King Edward Avenue parked outside of a daycare centre.
“They had come out with a letter saying these are the times the children sleep and that was about the best sleep I think all of us have got because it was dead quiet.”
Stating, “the horns is a very, very big concern for the City of Ottawa.”
“They’re loud – they always have been.”
The transports have been asked to not blow their horns from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
“In the section that we’re in, and I haven’t been everywhere, I would say 90% to 95% have respected that.”
“When you get a crowd of this size, you’re going to get all different types of people, thoughts and beliefs.”
Throughout the course of the week a number of people including children have stopped by shaking hands, hugs, flowers, food and giving the truckers cards.
“Socks, sweaters, shirts – the support coming from the locals and outsiders as well that have ventured down to Ottawa is absolutely phenomenal. I never dreamed that I would see anything like this.”
People have also been hauling in thousands of litres of fuel by hand over the course of the week.
A week after arriving Brown said he estimates there are still 100,000 trucks in the city.
The money raised from GoFundMe that has raised upwards of $10 million is gone as of Friday said Brown.
“So the leaders of this group that come from the western provinces has started something similar to GoFundMe, but as it sits right now, everybody that’s sitting here is on their own dime.”
“It’s going to hurt a lot of people.”
“My thought that is, the way the price of fuel, the way that we were being treated, we weren’t going to be in business much longer if something didn’t change. So we had nothing to lose.”
Brown said the way the government is handling COVID, “we seem to be going nowhere but down.”
“And every time we get ahead, we go back down.”
Speaking whether he believes in COVID, Brown said, “I believe there was an issue.”
“I believe now they are taking flu bugs that are passing around and considering them to be COVID.”
“I think they took a lot of deaths and blamed it on COVID that wasn’t necessarily true.”
“I do think there was a problem. At the start I think the vaccine had its place.”
But said the vaccine that originally came up with doesn’t treat the newest variant.
“Is it COVID – I don’t know I’m not a scientist. Science doesn’t lie.”
“Is it COVID or is it a flu?”
“Do they keep spreading the word, COVID, COVID, COVID to keep us under control – I don’t know. And we probably never will know.”
Brown admits he hasn’t been vaccinated and that has caused grief within his family who believe in the vaccine.
“I love my family to death and I don’t want to knock anybody, but I definitely will say a lot of my thoughts on it aren’t the same as theirs.”
Summing his thoughts up in one sentence Brown said, “proud to be Canadian and I’d like to see change.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
