OPP aware of potential traffic disruptions on 400-series highways as trucker convoy rolls into the GTA
Police say delays on the roads are expected Thursday through Saturday
A heads-up to drivers from the OPP if you are going to be motoring on 400-series highways.
Police say motorists should be aware of potential traffic disruptions as a result of a convoy of truckers heading to Ottawa as part of a protest against the federal government’s policy banning unvaccinated truck drivers from entering Canada.
Sgt. Kerry Schmidt says delays on the roads are expected Thursday through Saturday, including the Queen Elizabeth Way, Highway 400, Highway 427, Highway 403, and Highway 401.
Schmidt says truckers have the right to peacefully protest, but police will be keeping a close eye.
Traffic Advisory: The #OPP is aware of potential traffic disruptions expected throughout the #GTA, including #QEW, #Hwy400, #Hwy427, #Hwy403 and #Hwy401. Traffic delays anticipated Thursday until Saturday. Please be patient and #DriveSafe. https://t.co/Z9KfAG4VF2
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) January 26, 2022
A convoy of truckers and others opposed to public health restrictions is on its way from British Columbia to Parliament Hill for a weekend “freedom rally” against mandatory vaccinations.
A group called Canada Unity is organizing the movement, which its members refer to as the “freedom convoy.”
A “memorandum of understanding,” posted on the Canada Unity website, says its coalition is opposed to restrictions and mandates related to COVID−19, rules it deems are “unconstitutional, discriminatory and segregating.”
The memorandum’s goal, it says, is to form a committee with the Senate and Governor General in order to reverse pandemic−related restrictions and penalties.
This, the group falsely believes, would work to bypass existing systems of governance and compel the government to carry out its demands.
Specifically, the group seeks to have the Senate and Governor General override all levels of Canadian government by instructing them and the private sector to stop the use of vaccine passports.
Carissima Mathen, a professor of law at the University of Ottawa, said seeking to override all levels of government policy would not work, because the body who initially put the policy in place must be the one to reverse it
The Senate and Governor General, it says, should also instruct all levels of government to stop and waive fines issued to citizens, organizations and businesses related to COVID−19.
It also demands the Senate and Governor General reinstate employees at all levels of government who were fired for breaking COVID−19 rules, and encourage other institutions and private businesses to do the same.
If the Senate and Governor General refuse to join such a committee, the group says they should “resign their lawful positions of authority immediately.”
The Canadian Trucking Alliance has estimated that about 15 per cent of truckers — as many as 16,000 — are not fully vaccinated against COVID−19. It has strongly denounced any protests on public roadways, highways and bridges and has urged all truckers to get inoculated.
With files from the Canadian Press
