When the “Freedom Convoy” began heading for Ottawa on Jan. 23, several hundred people turned out to give them a send-off at the 232nd Street overpass on Hwy. 1 through Langley.
On Saturday, March 5, about two dozen demonstrators were waving flags and anti-vaccine-mandate placards at the same location.
Trucks and cars honked as they drove past.
One of the demonstrators, Maple Ridge resident Kim, who declined to give her last name, said it was part of a larger “freedom chain,” and pointed to a another group of demonstrators, just east of the overpass, lined up along the side of the highway.
“We’re making a freedom chain because freedom is important,” Kim told the Langley Advance Times.
“We have to protect it.”
Kim, from Maple Ridge, was one of about two dozen people who took park in a “freedom chain” anti-vaccine-mandate protest on the 232nd Street overpass in Hwy. 1 in Langley. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Another participant, who declined to be interviewed on camera, and did not want to give his name, said he was demonstrating against “government overreach.”
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Crowd of supporters greets anti-vaccine-mandate truck convoy in Aldergrove
There were other “freedom chain” demonstrations in other parts of the country Saturday, with protesters linking arms by the side of roadways to call for an end to vaccine passports and mask requirements.
One of the larger events was in Quebec, where an estimated 500 drivers and 2,000 protesters took part in a demonstration on the Trans Canada Hwy.
About two dozen people took park in a “freedom chain” anti-vaccine-mandate protest at the 232nd Street overpass on Hwy. 1 in Langley that was being held at other locations across the country. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
A private “Freedom chain 2022” Facebook page with close to 22,000 members described the group as “Organized and lead [sic] by God.”
READ ALSO: Langley – Aldergrove MP Tako Van Popta backs ‘Freedom Convoy’
In Ottawa, about 300 people took part in a demonstration on Parliament Hill, the first such gathering since police cleared out the downtown core on Feb. 19 after more than three weeks of protests.
Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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