Police are warning of possible delays on local provincial highways as transport truck drivers make their way to Ottawa for a planned demonstration.
The so-called “Freedom Convoy”, is expected to move through Southwestern Ontario on Thursday, as the rolling protest against vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers makes its trek towards Parliament Hill.
The Ontario Provincial Police said motorists should expect delays on highways 401 and 402.
“The OPP’s top priority is public safety & the orderly flow of traffic. Expect delays & please be patient,” the OPP said in a Twitter post.
According to organizers with Action4Canada, the convoy is expected to leave Windsor at 7 a.m., heading east on Highway 401. The truckers are then expected to stop in Chatham at Bloomfield Road at around 8:30 a.m., before departing at 9 a.m.
A convoy of truckers will also leave Sarnia between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., travelling on Highway 402.
Convoys are expected to reach Kingston by the end of the day, where they will stop for the night before continuing on to Ottawa the next day.
On its website, Action4Canada said it is “calling on Canadians to come out and support the truckers who are travelling across the nation to arrive in Ottawa on Jan. 29, 2022, to give the federal government a message: Put an end to the vaccine mandates and all things COVID! It is time for the tyranny and corruption to end.”
On January 15, the federal government made it mandatory for all truck drivers crossing the border into Canada to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Truck drivers were previously exempted from any cross-border vaccine mandates.
The Freedom Convoy demonstration in Ottawa is expected to take place on Saturday.