Shuswap welcomed the convoy to Victoria
March 21st, 2022 Sicamous welcomed “truckers” convoy heading from Ottawa to Victoria. Hundreds of Shuswap residents prepared a nice event to say “hi” and encourage the members of the convoy to reach their goal: remove all Covid mandates and restrictions Canada-wide. How this event saw our new correspondent you can read on the lines below. Natasha welcome on the board.
“The Creator is embracing us,” he said of the sunshine blessing us as we stood tall on the side of the highway, flags in hand. He was an Algonquin veteran from Quebec, now living in Sicamous, who had participated in his fair share of protests and he was elated to have the opportunity to cheer on these truckers from his home province down east. As we prepared to welcome the convoy, he told me about how he planned to go to Ottawa next month with his traditional headdress and get them to remove the blockades on Parliament Hill since it was his traditional territory. He planned on bringing many along with him.
Although it seems the attention is on Victoria these days, the capital of British Columbia. Over fifty vehicles including big rigs, motorhomes, and buses, came rolling down Highway 1 in Sicamous toward Victoria and parked at the local recreation center, where they were greeted by hundreds of local freedom fighters with BBQs raring and cookies and cake galore! There was even an amazing live country singer to keep us tapping our feet.
My almost 8 year old son had the best time dancing and playing with other freedom-loving children as I got to know some of the truckers. We got to sign a black bus with a white marker, “HoldtheLine; We love you truckers! You’re our heroes!” and admired the size and grandeur of these huge machines that were totting signs like “True North Strong and Free” and whose colors glimmered in the light. It filled me with awe that such raw brute power could be the instrument of freedom for so many.
As I finally began to make my way out of the parking lot, I met one last hero who came from Quebec with his crew to be the on-road mechanics for the convoy. They talked to me about so many homeless and disenfranchised people that they had helped along the way and they let me know they had been away from their families for two and a half months, traveling from Quebec to Ottawa and now to Victoria. I thanked them, “du fond de mon coeur,” (from the bottom of my heart).
I left Sicamous today feeling uplifted and hopeful, as I often do after rallies or protests. But today was special to see so many from across our nation come together to help us here in our province to fight these draconian mandates. I’m so thankful to all the beautiful faces and smiles I got to see today and pray that we continue to stand up for our right to make our own medical choices.
The Great Canadian Cruise convoy has changed its schedule and will be joining the Okanagan convoy to Osoyoos this Saturday, March 26th before making their way to Victoria. They will be staying in Victoria until ALL mandates across the country are removed.
– Natasha Piccini
