They're So Proud of Their Dad

One daughter brought her sons to Ottawa twice during the protest.

Part 1: The Church in the Greenhouse (trucker Bill’s story)

During his three weeks in Ottawa, Bill was showered with free coffee, free food, gift cards, and cash. A day didn't go by in which he wasn't given children's drawings, thank you notes, and letters. After he returned home, one of his daughters arranged those documents - historical artifacts of an important historical event - in transparent sleeves in a thick red binder. On the spine of that binder, she wrote Opa's Convoy Letters.

Within those pages, members of the public tell Bill he is a hero and an inspiration. They thank him for restoring hope during a dark time. They urge him to remain in Ottawa, peacefully protesting for the sake of future generations. They beg him not to give up, and tell him they are praying fervently for his well-being and his safety.  

His own children were wholly supportive of Bill's role in the Convoy. "They're so proud of their dad," says Elisabeth. One daughter brought her four sons to Ottawa twice during the protest. Normally quiet and reserved, the arbitrary nature of some pandemic restrictions pushed her past the breaking point. In his senior year of high school, her son needed to print out an assignment.

Bill explains, "She had to go to a store to buy ink cartridges, her printer ink was empty. She went to Costco, but the ink was roped off." By government decree, many items were deemed 'non-essential' and therefore couldn't legally be purchased.

Bill says his daughter responded by calling the constituency office of her MPP, her Member of Provincial Parliament. "She told him, 'You people say this isn't essential, so I'm coming to your office to get this stuff printed.' They were closed, but the assistant had to open the office to print her schoolwork. The assistant was pissed with her. Oh, she was mad."

Toward the end of the third week of the protest, Elisabeth has returned home. Bill is sharing a room with Harold Jonker, whose wife is also back home. On the first day of the police crackdown, nothing violent happens in the vicinity of Bill's truck. But that's the day two people are trampled by police horses ridden recklessly through the crowd. Video footage is all over social media, and Bill's family is urging him to leave.

"He didn't see what was going on," says Elisabeth. "But we did. We said, 'You need to go, these people are violent.' The kids were phoning and texting him. He said, 'No, it's not so bad. It's quiet here.'"

A son-in-law reached out, remembers Elisabeth, "The one who married our oldest daughter. He said, 'Dad, we're proud of you. You've done it. It's OK, you need to come home now.' A really nice note. Yeah, it was panicky for the girls."

next installment: Final Night in Ottawa