{"id":8543281,"date":"2022-01-29T11:34:55","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T16:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/?p=8543281"},"modified":"2022-01-31T14:40:50","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T19:40:50","slug":"covid-trucker-convoy-organizers-hate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/news\/8543281\/covid-trucker-convoy-organizers-hate\/","title":{"rendered":"Some trucker convoy organizers have history of white nationalism, racism"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the first vehicles from the trucker convoy<\/a> started appearing on Ottawa streets, some Twitter users shared a particular photo: a pickup truck with a confederate flag flying from the bed.<\/p>\n

Now, as the convoy descends on Ottawa with the stated aim of opposing all COVID-19<\/a> mandates, anti-hate experts allege those with white nationalist and Islamophobic views don’t just represent the fringes of the movement but are among the organizers of the convoy.<\/p>\n

“We’re saying that this is a far-right convoy because — from day one — the organizers themselves are part of the far-right movement,” said Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.<\/p>\n

“They have previously been involved in far-right movements and have made Islamophobic comments in the past.”<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tRead more: <\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tTrucker convoy protest arrives in Ottawa for multi-day demonstration\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\n

It can be difficult to determine who is a key organizer of the convoy, but there are some names that emerge time and time again \u2014 whether as authors of the $7.4million GoFundMe campaign, as points of contact on the website that boasts a petition with 240,000 signatures, or on social media posts providing widely-shared directions to anyone hoping to join.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t \t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t \t<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

Global News contacted all the organizers mentioned in this story, but none responded by the time of publication. Jason LaFace, an Ontario organizer, did pick up the call, but upon the reporter identifying themselves, immediately laughed, said “no thank you,” and hung up the phone.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tWhat does the convoy want?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n

The convoy initially kicked off with a focus on opposing vaccine mandates \u2014 especially the one aimed at truckers. The government announced in November 2021 that all Canadian truckers seeking to cross the border from the United States would need to be vaccinated in order to avoid a 14-day quarantine. That mandate went into effect on Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

The U.S. also instituted its own ban on unvaccinated truck drivers a week after Canada implemented its policy.<\/p>\n

In the days since the trucks hit the road, the stated goal of the movement has become muddied.<\/p>\n

One trucker who is headed to the protest, Brigitte Belton, told Global News in a Friday interview that her goal is “to get freedom back,” and that she is “not here for politics.”<\/p>\n

Commenting on other participants whose goals may be more extreme, she said “whatever their agendas are, that’s not what we’re here for. So they need to be quiet. They need to go home.”<\/p>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tRead more: <\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tOrganizer of GoFundMe campaign for trucker convoy withdraws $1M, company confirms\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\n

A group affiliated with the convoy, Canada Unity, has produced a “memorandum of understanding” that it plans to present to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and the Senate, and which it believes would force the government to rescind COVID-19 public health measures, or force the government to resign en masse.<\/p>\n

“The GG wouldn’t dismiss a Cabinet that hasn’t lost the confidence of the Commons … moreover, the GG has no authority to independently rescind laws or regulations,” said parliamentary expert Philippe Lagass\u00e9.<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\tWho is organizing the convoy?\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n

The convoy has a number of participants with different goals and isn’t cohesive, but some popular webpages help paint a picture of the people behind the convoy.<\/p>\n

There is a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $7 million for the trucker convoy. That fundraiser has two names on it: Tamara Lich, and B.J. Dichter.<\/p>\n

Speaking to a cheering crowd at a People’s Party of Canada convention in 2019, B.J. Dichter warned listeners<\/a> about the dangers of “political Islamists,” and said\u00a0the Liberal Party is “infested with Islamists.”<\/p>\n