More Stress & More Work

Cross-border vaccine mandate highly disruptive for small trucking companies.

Part 1: Jonker Brotherhood

Tim behind the wheel of his borrowed Freightliner. Screen capture from a video recorded as he entered Ottawa and encountered a massive traffic jam.

Harold's brother Tim also took part in the Convoy. "I ended up driving one of our owner-operator's trucks," he explains, a red Freightliner. "He'd just bought a brand new pickup and wanted to drive it. I said, 'Oh, good.' Cuz we didn't have enough trucks, there were so many guys that wanted to go."

Tim's then 13-year-old son, along with two friends of a similar age, were in the truck with him. "My wife followed me with the minivan, she had the other four kids."

Exterior of Tim’s borrowed truck. Screen capture from a video recorded in Fort Erie.

In a brief video Tim recorded in Fort Erie that morning, he shows us the dump trucks and stone-slingers (that distribute sand and other materials via conveyor belts) that joined the Convoy even though "these aren't guys that typically cross the border." The larger issue was freedom, period.

In another video, taken in Niagara-on-the Lake, he remarks "There's trucks everywhere. The support is amazing...I haven't seen so many mask-less people in years."

The crowds were a bit of a shock, he says. "I specifically remember a Trenton bridge. Before we even got there, there's people parked on the side of the highway, it's just totally packed. For me that was the biggest 'Wow, this is crazy.' Cuz you know it's a small town, and that people are driving from aways just to come and see you."

Overall, there were a lot of "Thank you, truckers" signs, he remembers. And "a lot of 'God keep our land glorious and free.' It was very patriotic. And then a lot of F-Trudeau signs, which I never really appreciate. I don't want to teach my kids that."

Tim is the company's dispatcher. In his words, "I make sure there's enough work for the guys, and make sure there's enough guys for the work."

A couple days before the cross-border vaccine mandate was scheduled to take effect, the Canadian Border Services Agency announced a short-lived reprieve:

I called some customers, booked some loads. And then, the next day, [the government] re-changed their mind. Oh, crap, our guys can't cross. Now, I've gotta cancel those. What a rollercoaster. I don't know how I'm gonna keep my guys busy, I don't know how we're gonna stay profitable. It almost made it worse.

Brother-in-law Jeff remembers those days clearly. In his words, "All of a sudden you're thrown into a position where you have to find loads that are going across the country, but we don't have the contacts for back hauls" - loads for the return journey, so half the trip isn't made with an empty truck.

"Tim did find it harder, it was more stressful for him. We bought one trailer to help that situation, but we're not in a position where you can just buy 10 more. It's more stress and more work. It took a bit of a toll on him, I could see that."

next installment: How Many Were Coerced?