COUTTS, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — Jason Kenney and the mainstream media are lying about what happened at the border in Alberta this weekend.
Despite claims to the contrary, neither Kenney nor legacy journalists contacted the truckers there. Neither came down to speak to them. No mainstream media came down to interview the organizers; they only came down to look for complaints against them.
The government has been misinformed, and this means a lot of you have been, too.
I have been working hard at promoting religious freedoms in the COVID mandate fight, so I joined the freedom underground groups months ago. I come from a farming background, and so many of my friends and neighbors are truckers, farmers, and parents just like you and me. This is what you need to know:
The emergency lanes were never blocked. Everyone in the convoy understood that anyone who didn’t follow this rule would be asked to leave. There were a few times when someone was in the emergency lane, but only for a few minutes while they were leaving the protest.
The Canada-U.S. border is not closed, and therefore there is not a border crisis. The other border crossings in Alberta are fully open and are accepting travellers. The reason why the #TruckersforFreedom took their stand at Coutts is because it is the commercial border crossing and the only way for someone to take notice of your cause is to get their attention.
Commercial trucks can still enter Canada; they just have to be rerouted to the other provincial commercial borders, or the federal government can start accepting commercial trucks at the other Alberta borders (some exceptions do apply of course).
All truckers that were initially ‘stuck’ at the border on Saturday, January 29, 2022, had advance notice of the event. They had been told two weeks before that there was a border protest at Coutts, and they were told not to attempt to cross. They showed up regardless of the warnings, and then sat for hours in gridlock as the protesting truckers lined up. Since all the truckers knew about the event, the business owners probably knew about it as well. When I was there on Saturday afternoon, I walked around, knocked on cab doors and spoke to several of the truckers in the line. When asked why so many non-protest trucks were attempting to cross, the response was always: “They didn’t think we could pull it off.”
After the border was officially closed at approximately 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, the protest truckers spent a few hours getting everyone into place to form a proper blockade. This included a route for the southbound truckers stopped behind the blockade to pull out of the line and head back north where they came from.
Since the border was closed, no more trucks were allowed into Canada, except the trucks that were stuck between the Canadian gates and the protest trucks. Once everything was in gridlock and everyone was in place, the non-protest truckers were invited to join in the festivities. They were given food, water, dog food, supplies and were even refueled on the spot, at no cost.
The non-protest truckers were asked on Sunday night if they wanted to go home, and some of them did, so the protest trucks moved around, repositioned, and let them out. But some chose to remain, saying “We support your cause, we’ll stay.” However, the next morning, when a fleet of RCMP vehicles surrounded the blockade, they quickly changed their tune, and some of them went on to tell CTV News that they were treated badly and weren’t allowed to leave. However, there are photos and videos all over social media that contradict their story.
There are no trucks stuck on the Sweet Grass, Montana side of the border anymore. They were told to go home or choose to wait it out by U.S. border patrol on Saturday afternoon. They were also notified weeks in advance that this was happening, and they also chose to attempt to cross. Several trucks turned around and went to Shelby, Montana, which has a population of 3,000, complete with gas stations, bars, restaurants, and grocery stores. Some trucks stayed in Sweet Grass and the restaurants and bars there are taking care of them. The U.S. freedom truckers that came to hold the line on the U.S. side, they have been taken care of with hot meals, water, packed lunches and supplies by the town’s supporters.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) showed up in full force with more than 40 vehicles and tactical unit trailers early Monday morning, just to send in two negotiators. They have since blocked off all the roads leading into Coutts. They spent Monday speaking with the protest organizers. The RCMP requested that the final remaining trucks be let go, but most of them had already left. The Truckers for Freedom organizers agreed but asked for their supplies to be let through in exchange. The RCMP agreed, thanked them for being so calm and easy to work with, and left. Hours later, with the family vehicles still parked on the side of the road in freezing temperatures, waiting to bring in the supplies, there was still no word from the RCMP. The RCMP negotiators were called, and they told the truckers that they had instructions not to let anyone through for any reason, even for food and supplies.
That was 24 hours ago and they still are waiting to get supplies in.
Vanessa Nieboer is from Lethbridge, Alberta. She is an active supporter of religious freedoms worldwide.