First Sunday in Ottawa

Diverse religious and community leaders took a turn at the microphone.

Tom Quiggan is an Ottawa-based security specialist who assisted the Freedom Convoy during its extended protest in the nation’s capital. He’s also the author of Eyewitness to Deceit: Trudeau’s Infowar on Freedom Convoy 2022.

That book examines how the the federal government and the mainstream media responded to the trucker protest. It isn’t a pretty story.

Some details, though, are especially illuminating. For example, Quiggan reports that the first formal event associated with the convoy after it arrived in Ottawa was a spiritual service held on Sunday, January 30th, “on Wellington Street directly in front of the Parliament buildings.”

He points out that the line-up of speakers for this event was significantly more diverse than many public gatherings. It included:

• a Dene spokesperson from the Northwest Territories

• a Cree clan mother

• a Jewish truck driver from Ontario

• a Métis woman from Alberta (Tamara Lich)

• a black, francophone minister from Quebec

• a Mennonite preacher

In other words, the convoy had links to several aboriginal and religious communities. It attracted - and was supported by - people from a variety of backgrounds and geographic locales. This was not a collection of uncouth rabble-rousers. The reality on the ground was the exact opposite.

Many of the truckers who protested in Ottawa are people of faith. They have a moral compass, as well as a big picture perspective.

In the ongoing battle between good and evil, they believe they themselves have a role to play - a responsibility.

see also Faith Abides: Truckers drew strength and comfort from daily religious services