ESTEVAN - A large crowd gathered in front of the Estevan Court House on Saturday afternoon for a freedom rally to show support for truck drivers, and to voice opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The demonstration was held at the same time in which thousands of people have been gathering in Ottawa as part of a truck convoy. Truckers from across the country have converged on Ottawa for the event. Among the issues is legislation that came into effect earlier this month that requires truckers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to cross the Canada-U.S. border.
The Estevan rally saw people line Fourth Street in front of the Court House. Many of them toted signs. Some of them expressed their support for truckers and all that truckers have done since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Others had signs that called for the end of vaccine passports and other existing restrictions.
Many of them carried Canadian flags.
After opening with O Canada and a prayer, there were also speeches from a few in attendance, including Jay Riedel and Emily Gillies. Riedel thanked everyone for turning out to support freedom.
Many passing motorists supportively honked their horns at the demonstrators.
Once the speeches were completed, many of those in attendance participated in a convoy from Estevan to North Portal and back.
Similar rallies were held in other communities on Saturday, including one in Regina.
Next week's edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.
