Fined for Flying Canadian Flag
'I think it's a huge lovefest,' says trucker undeterred by hundreds of dollars in tickets.
In the above video, a trucker in downtown Ottawa tells photojournalist Beth Baisch:
They pulled me over for having a Canadian flag on the back of my truck. Said it was distracting. So they gave me $160 fine for having something distracting on the back of my truck. And for my safety, once I was pulled over, I pulled out my phone to record the police officer and they charged me $650 for having a phone in my hand, recording.
…they called [the flag] an unsafe load and [said] it was distracting. It’s not an unsafe load…I used to work for the Ministry of Transportation. I dealt with unsafe loads. And I’m a truck driver for years. I know how to secure loads.
He admits the police may have targetted him because he has been delivering fuel to parked trucks. When asked if the tickets will deter him, he replies. “Oh, no. I’m getting a bigger flag,” before shrugging off the possibility that he might get fined every day.
When invited to express his general thoughts on the Freedom Convoy, he replies: “I think it’s a huge lovefest.”
In his opinion, the media and “the jackass up there” - as he points toward Parliament Hill - have “no clue what’s going on.”
