Around 3:40 this afternoon a "slow roll convoy" consisting mostly of cars and trucks pulled out along Pinewood Park Drive to support the truckers in Ottawa.
A big rig led the way, and over 100 vehicles followed, many decked out in Canadian flags, and many more honking horns as they moved toward the exit to Highway 11.
From there the plan was to head north then take Algonquin Ave. to Lakeshore, then return full circle to Pinewood Park.
The purpose is to show support to the truckers in Ottawa.
“We’re very concentrated there in terms of support,” explained event organizer, Taylor James, speaking of the capital. He wants to ensure this support continues in North Bay—and in towns throughout the country—“to show Justin Trudeau that there isn’t a fringe population isolated to one area” concerned about vaccine mandate issues.
“There’s support from all over Canada,” he emphasized, adding while preparing for this “slow roll” event, he’s been consulting with North Bay Police to ensure safety for all along the route.
“We’re going to obey all laws and do our best to support the movement. We want to drop all mandates. That’s the point of this whole thing.”
James founded the North Bay Convoy Support Group, and the group’s Facebook page is just shy of 5,000 members. Similar groups are spouting up across the country, James said.
As part of the event, supporters were asked to donate food and toilet paper for the North Bay Food Bank.
“We have an event at city hall tomorrow, and an event at the health unit the next day,” James said.
See the start of the convoy here.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
