Several hundred demonstrators lined the highway and the 264th St. overpass in Aldergrove Sunday morning, Jan, 23, to show support for a convoy of truckers protesting a vaccine mandate.
They waved flags and carried signs and banners with messages that included “thank you truckers,” “end vaccine tyranny,” “end all mandates,” and “honk for the convoy for freedom.”
As the truck passed by, some chanted “freedom.”
Frank from Maple Ridge was among several hundred demonstrators who lined Hwy. 1 and the 264th St. overpass in Aldergrove Sunday morning, Jan, 23, to show support for a convoy of truckers protesting a vaccine mandate. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
One of the demonstrators, Frank from Maple Ridge (who declined to give his last name), said he was there “just to make a stand for freedom of choice.”
Stephanie Rempel, from Langley’s Brookswood neighbourhood, attended with her parents, Henry and Linda, who had signs that said “freedom” and “we will not comply.”
Stephanie told the Langley Advance Times she attended because she wants “to end these mandates, all this COVID crap. I want all this to stop.”
Henry agreed, saying “it’s just insane.”
Linda said she was “just tired” of it all.
Abbotsford resident Nick Shelton, who described himself as “vax-free” and attended with his daughter Dakota, said the issue for him was one of personal choice.
“No medical treatment can be mandated on anybody,” he declared.
“People have got freedom of choice.”
READ ALSO: Unvaccinated truckers plan “Freedom Convoy” to protest cross-border vaccine mandate
All truckers who cross the border from Canada into the U.S. must be vaccinated to avoid a 14-day quarantine under a new policy passed Jan. 15.
Up to 26,000 of the 160,000 drivers who make regular trips across the Canada-U.S. border would likely be sidelined as a result of the vaccine mandate in both countries, according to the Canadian Trucking Alliance and the American Trucking Associations.
Some of those truckers have organized a “Freedom Convoy” that left from Vancouver for Ottawa on Sunday. Another convoy is set to leave from Enfield, Nova Scotia on Jan. 27.
Organizers have called for truckers from across Canada to join.
READ MORE: Truckers should have done more to prepare for vaccine mandate, experts say
More photos from the 264th St. demonstration can be viewed online at the Langley Advance Times Facebook page.
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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