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Anticipation revs up as convoy to Ottawa prepares to roll out

Feb 11, 2019 | 2:31 PM

A convoy of rigs travelling from Red Deer to Ottawa is set to head out this week, and people involved are getting very excited.

The United We Roll Convoy for Canada is set to hit the road this Thursday. With the big day approaching, organizer Glen Carritt says there is still much to work out.

“In the last couple days here, we’re just planning the final routes as to what roads we’re taking and where trucks can join us. We’ve sent out a calendar with a schedule on where we’re going to be, we’re working on a tracking system, and with police services all the way from Red Deer to Ottawa, just making sure the communications are open.”  

Anticipation is high, Carritt says, for what will go down starting Thursday.

“It’s really good. Everybody is really pumped up and ready to go. We’ve got a good core of trucks going all the way across the country which is phenomenal given our tough economic times, plus trying to get across Canada is no easy feat,” he says. “We’re really pushing the narrative of having everybody join us along the way.”

A few hundred vehicles are expected to ship out from Red Deer, with others joining from BC and across the Prairies. Another group is set to head out from the Maritimes, meeting the main convoy on Parliament Hill.

The main group meets at 7 a.m. Thursday and leaves around 8 a.m. from Gorts Truck Wash in Edgar Industrial Park.

The route starts toward Calgary, before heading east through Brooks and Medicine Hat to the Saskatchewan border. The convoy will stop overnight Regina for the first night before going through Moose Jaw and resting overnight in Virden, MB. From there, the convoy rolls to Winnipeg and then Kenora, Ontario for the night.

The convoy is scheduled to reach Sault St. Marie the following day before leaving the day after that for its final destination, Parliament Hill. An extra day has also been scheduled in case of inclement weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

“It’s going to be a long haul for us, but hopefully people get out and show their support that they’re not happy with our current government’s disconnect,” says Carritt, who admits he’d be open to a face-to-face with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The point of the convoy, Carritt reiterates, is to protest bills C-48 and C-69, as well as the carbon tax, which he believes needs to be scrapped or revisited.

He says anyone, be it yellow vests, blue hard hats or otherwise, is welcome to join in.