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The North Bay Police Service says it is aware of the convoy that will be travelling to North Bay on Friday and planning to make a stop on Pinewood Park Drive at approximately 1:00 p.m.
See related: Convoy to hit North Bay Friday but Canadian Trucking Alliance condemns protests by unvaccinated truckers
Several groups of truckers are making their way to Ottawa from different directions, with a plan to meet in the nation's capital, Saturday. Canada Unity, one of the groups organizing the Convoy for Freedom says it is against vaccine mandates and "represents and defends all Canadians' lawful freedom of choice."
See also: Freedom Convoy heads to Ottawa; some truckers oppose government’s vaccine mandate
The convoy originated in B.C. and, as of early Tuesday had travelled through parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan. That group of trucks from the west headed for North Bay Friday now numbers in the hundreds, according to reports from the Regina Police Service, Monday evening.
NBPS Corporate Communications Officer David Woolley tells BayToday, "We will have contingencies in place to maintain public safety and address any potential traffic congestion that may occur. We will have officers deployed to the area of Pinewood Park Drive on January 28 to monitor traffic and provide enforcement if required."
Woolley advises NBPS is working with policing partners, such as the Ontario Provincial Police, whose officers will be monitoring the convoy as it makes its way to North Bay. NBPS will also be in contact with the Greater Sudbury Police Service to ascertain the size of the convoy and any challenges encountered by police as it nears North Bay.
"We would ask motorists to avoid the area of Pinewood Park Drive around the time of the convoy’s stop if they are able to find alternate routes of travel," adds Woolley.
The group objects to the vaccine mandate requiring travellers — including transport operators — to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to cross the Canada-U.S. border. The mandate is seen as political in nature with wide-ranging negative economic consequences for small businesses and workers.
