Luis & His Faith

How one trucker faced down the police.

Luis’ truck. Photo supplied by him.

At a recent BBQ with a number of Freedom Convoy folk, I chatted with Luis, who came to Canada from Guatemala more than 30 years ago. He parked his truck on Wellington Street not because he himself faced a vaccine mandate, but because his fellow truckers did. In his words, “We’re all in this together.”

Luis makes his living transporting used cars between Ottawa and Toronto. It takes 5-6 hours to load his double-decker auto hauler, a task that requires skill and care - and which he himself performs. Unloading is a breeze, only 45 minutes.

Eduard, another trucker at the BBQ (who immigrated here from Armenia) said he gave Luis the nickname Last Man Standing while they were in Ottawa together - and that his truck was, indeed, there at the end.

Luis isn’t much more than five feet tall, but he’s solid and barrel-chested. He draws strength and courage from his Roman Catholic faith. Toward the end of the protest he was on the street, facing a wall of riot police three deep. The cops were methodically advancing, pushing their way into the crowd of peaceful demonstrators who were urgently pleading with them not to be totalitarian thugs.

As he stood there, Luis says, he raised his right hand a little above his head and a little forward. Then he prayed. Aloud. In Spanish.

The police weren’t sure how to respond, he says, and stopped advancing. He was told to lower his hand. After he did so, the police pushed forward.

Raising his hand once more, he resumed praying. Once again, the police line stopped and he was ordered to lower his hand.

The third time, he was arrested. Like many others, he was handcuffed for hours. Like many others, he was dropped off by police in a deserted factory parking lot. In subzero weather.

Doggedly, he walked the three kilometers (nearly 2 miles) back to his truck.