Meet the truckers: The men and women of the Freedom Convoy 2022

Slawek Pietraszek is a 43-year-old trucker on his way to Ottawa in the convoy. Credit: Rachel Parent/National Post

Slawek Pietraszek

Slawek Pietraszek was born in Poland. After moving here in 1991, he spent the rest of his childhood in Brampton, Ont., where he still resides with his wife and four children. The 43-year-old trucker travelled approximately 30 kilometres to participate in a convoy launch in Vaughan, Ont., that will ultimately lead him to Ottawa, where he plans to stay as long as he needs to until a resolution can be reached. Pietraszek, who did not want to disclose his vaccination status, says he is motivated by his family and the birth of his fourth child this week. He hopes to leave a better future to them and that governments will agree to repeal all vaccine mandates. “My fourth child was born this past Saturday; I’ve decided I need to do this for my family,” he said. — Rachel Parent, National Post

Corey Bayne a truck driver at the Vaughan convoy takeoff to show his support. Credit: Rachel Parent/National Post

Corey Bayne

Growing up in Newfoundland, much of Corey Bayne’s family background and upbringing was surrounded by trucking. At age 18, he moved to Ontario, where he got his trucking licence and became a driver by age 19. The 44-year-old now lives in Georgetown, Ont., where he travelled from to attend the Vaughan convoy launch. While he can’t make it to Ottawa because he is working, he took a day off to show support and solidarity with the truckers that will be making the trip. “It’s exciting that everyone is getting together as one group,” he said. Bayne got vaccinated to keep his job, but says he understands and supports the opposition to the mandates. He hopes all vaccine mandates will be repealed. — Rachel Parent, National Post

Dave Ridell and his wife before leaving for Ottawa with the convoy. Credit: Rachel Parent/National Post

Dave Ridell

As a third-generation farmer in Alliston, Ont., Dave Ridell has been transporting his grains through trucking for the last 30 to 40 years. He travelled approximately 60 kms to participate in the convoy launch in Vaughan, and will be going all the way to Ottawa. The 59-year-old is concerned that government overreach has gotten out of hand, and that politicians need to be held more accountable for what they are doing and the impact vaccine mandates are having on people. He also said that truckers, being frontline workers, were once considered heroes along with health-care workers and other industries, but the mandate on truckers pushes aside many who worked through the harder moments. Ridell, who didn’t want to disclose his vaccination status, hopes that the convoy to Ottawa will lead to all vaccine mandates being lifted. “The amount of people who are unemployed because it’s their personal choice whether they want to be vaccinated or not, it’s not fair, just totally unfair,” he said. — Rachel Parent, National Post

James Smockum (right) a truck driver for the film industry at the convoy takeoff event in Vaughan. Credit: Rachel Parent/National Post

James Smockum

Growing up on a farm, James Smockum drove trucks from a young age, and as soon as he turned 19, he got his trucking licence. He knew he wanted to become a truck driver after watching Smoky and the Bandit. “I watched it 1,000 times growing up, pretty well from the first time I watched that, I figured that’s what I want to do when I got older,” he said. He was a trucker on the road for most of his life and now primarily does transport for the film industry. The 42-year-old said that while his job hasn’t been impacted yet, there are sets that are starting to mandate vaccination and he has fewer options. He’s planning to go up to Ottawa on the weekend to be a part of the events there. “My hope for this is that people see that there’s this many people against what’s going on,” he said. “Most people see the mainstream narrative that everyone is vaccinated and anyone who’s not vaccinated is a horrible person, which is not the truth at all.” — Rachel Parent, National Post

© Provided by National Post Claudia Winterhalter, a truck driver on her way to Ottawa as part of the convoy. Credit: Rachel Parent/National Post

Claudia Winterhalter

Claudia Winterhalter lived in West Germany when the country was divided, and says she saw the impact of totalitarianism on East Germany. Growing up, she watched her dad work as a bus driver and wanted to follow in his footsteps. To qualify for driving a bus, you first have to drive a truck in Germany, she said, so she began her career in trucking in 1996. After she married a Canadian truck driver, she continued her career in Canada. The 54-year-old from Orangeville, Ont., has not been vaccinated, but is not against the vaccine. Most of her family and children have gotten it. She believes it is a personal choice. She says much of what is happening reminds her of what she grew up witnessing, with food shortages, political unrest and government overreach. She said even if the convoy doesn’t achieve its goal to reverse all mandates, she hopes they can reinforce that they are all taxpayers and deserve the same freedoms. “I find it’s sad that people are losing their jobs because they have to get vaccinated,” she said. “This is not what Canada is all about, it’s your choice.” — Rachel Parent, National Post

• What the truckers want (and why Ottawa can’t give it to them)
• ‘City’s going to get gridlocked’: How the truck convoy could wreak havoc on Ottawa streets

DeAndre Mahadeo, a 35-year-old trucker from Barrie, before the convoy begins. Credit: Rachel Parent/National Post

DeAndre Mahadeo

DeAndre Mahadeo is a 35-year-old trucker from Barrie, Ont. His father, also a trucker, inspired him to the career. He has been trucking for 12 years now. He says he feels overjoyed by the number of people that have been supporting them. He’s hopeful they can make a change when they reach Ottawa. Being unvaccinated, the mandate for cross-border truckers that went into effect on Jan. 15 has impacted him. He hasn’t been able to do cross-border work and could be out of a job should it not be reversed. He said he’ll be staying in Ottawa until a resolution is reached and that this is about reversing the mandate and putting a spotlight on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “I’m hoping that they’ll listen to us,” he said. “I’m hoping that they’ll consider what we are saying.” — Rachel Parent, National Post

Matt Raynor pictured in his truck on the way to Ottawa. Photo provided by Matt Rayner.

Matt Rayner

Matt Rayner of Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island, has been trucking since he was old enough to obtain his Class 1 driving licence. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both truckers, the 30-year-old Rayner has worked all over the country including Alberta, the Canadian Arctic, and Baffin Island in Nunavut. After eight years, Rayner had to make the hard decision to retire from trucking. The mandatory COVID isolation period when he returned to P.E.I. became a burden. He said he got sick of working away from home then not being able to spend time with his family when he returned. Rayner now works as a tattoo artist, which allows him to be home with his two daughters. “If it wasn’t for COVID, I’d still be doing it,” he said about trucking. With a backseat full of food to share with other drivers, Rayner set out on a 13-hour drive from P.E.I. to Ottawa, but he is not alone. Last year, Rayner’s father passed away from a heart attack. He brought his ashes along with him on the trip to Ottawa in memory of the hours they used to spend travelling together. Rayner, who did not disclose if he is vaccinated, said he wants to see “mandates dropped, especially isolation for truckers.” He said he worries about his kids who have to wear masks at school and can’t go to birthday parties. “I can’t go here and there, but everybody can go to Walmart,” he said. “It makes absolutely no sense.” — Jessica Mundie, National Post

Lola Parsons (left) and Jennifer Whiteway pose with Monty the dog at a pitstop in Aulac, New Brunswick, on their way to Ottawa. Photo provided by Lola Parsons.

Lola Parsons

On Tuesday morning at 7 a.m., Lola Parsons began the 31-hour drive from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Ottawa. Her journey has been filled with “crying and laughing,” she said, as she travels with her friends, and their dog Monty in the East Coast Convoy towards the nation’s capital. Parson, who is 54-years-old, is one of the team leads for this group of drivers. She is not a truck driver, but she joined the convoy because she agrees with its mission. She has been posting photos and video updates on her Facebook page of the convoy’s journey, alerting those travelling in front and behind her of their whereabouts and letting supporters know where to meet to cheer them on. Parsons said she has witnessed overwhelming support throughout the drive. When leaving Fredericton, New Brunswick, on Thursday, she said there were so many people lining the highway and overpass the police instructed the convoy to pull off the ramp to get back on the highway. “That will tell you what kind of movement is happening in Eastern Canada right now,” she said. For Parsons, this drive is a “journey to freedom.” Parsons, who did not disclose if she is vaccinated, said she wants to see an end to the vaccine mandates and “unnecessary” restrictions. “This is no small fringe movement,” she said. “These are real people who live in Canada.” — Jessica Mundie, National Post

© National Post “Everybody’s coming together, based on one common goal.” says Sophia. Credit: Rachel Parent/National Post

Sophia

Sophia, who asked that her last name not be published to protect her privacy, grew up in a family of truckers. Some of her earliest memories are of riding in her father’s truck. She’s been a licensed truck driver for over seven years and says trucking was somewhat of a calling for her. After going to post-secondary school, and trying various professions, including in the health-care industry, she decided that transport felt like the right fit. The Toronto woman’s vaccination status is undisclosed, and she says that is exactly the point. She said the trucker convoy is a movement, not a protest, and it’s not about anyone’s vaccination status, but instead about freedom and the basic human right to choose. Her motivation to join the convoy in Ottawa falls on the fact that she has young kids and doesn’t want to see them struggle with COVID restrictions in the education system. Truckers are the backbone of the economy, she said. From food to gas to clothing, everything comes from a trucker. “I find that a lot of people now are speaking out saying, you know, it’s white supremacy coming out, and this a racist movement. But it’s people of colour. It’s also a unity that’s coming out,” said Sophia, who includes that she is Trini-Afghan Canadian on signs supporting the Freedom Convoy. “Everybody’s coming together, based on one common goal.” — Rachel Parent, National Post