A photo from the Jan. 29, 2022, Okanagan Slow Roll Convoy as it traveled south on Highway 97 between Peachland and Summerland. Organizers plan to hold protest event again this weekend.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

While protesters from across the country are hunkered down in Ottawa in the ongoing trucker protest, supporters in the Okanagan are planning another show of support on Saturday.

The Okanagan Slow Roll Convoy was a large number of vehicles, mostly pickup trucks, that made their way from Vernon to the U.S. border in Osoyoos last weekend.

“She was a good time that’s for sure,” organizer Nessy Burkitt said about last weekend’s demonstration. “Lot of smiles, lots of laughter, it was loud. That was the most smiles I think I’ve seen in the last two years.”

Starting in Vernon, the Jan. 29 convoy accumulated supporters throughout the day as it rolled through the cities of Kelowna and Penticton on its way to the U.S. border in Osoyoos.

READ MORE: Ottawa mayor calls Conservative MPs' support of protest 'an absolute disgrace'

Burkitt organized last Saturday’s event. She thought somebody else was going to plan a local demonstration, but when that didn’t happen, she decided to take the lead. 

“To be truthful with you I just kinda of threw a poster out there, because I was just standing up for our rights and freedom,” she said. “Everyone calls us anti-vaccine – this has nothing to do with a vaccine. It’s about freedom of choice and standing in solidarity with the truckers.”

Every job is essential, she said, because many people rely on businesses being open in order to be able to pay their bills.

“I don’t get behind the non-essential verbiage – everything’s essential," Burkitt said.

READ MORE: Hundreds gather for trucker protest against pandemic mandates in Okanagan

Many people are having their mental health negatively impacted by COVID restrictions, she said.

Burkitt said it’s difficult to estimate the total number of people who joined last weekend’s demonstration, but she was “mind-blown” by how large the turnout was. On a Facebook live video she said she “wouldn’t be surprised” if more than 1,000 vehicles were part of the convoy.

The Okanagan Slow Roll Convoy will be meeting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement inspection station on Highway 97 just north of Vernon.

READ MORE: 'All options on the table' to end protest ensnaring Ottawa, says police chief

Image Credit: SUBMITTED

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