Convoy organizers determined to stay, thank Ottawa residents for 'support'

Some of the main organizers for the 'Freedom Convoy' spoke to reporters Thursday at a press conference decrying that they had been painted as 'racists, misogynists…and even terrorists,' and that no one from the federal or provincial government had met with them.

Tamara Lich, one of the leaders of the convoy, read a prepared statement “calling on all levels of government to lift all COVID-19 restrictions and mandates,” and vowed to stay on until there is a “solid plan” to see action on their demands.

Speaking at a press conference, Lich said lawyers for the convoy had sent GoFundMe “all the details they had asked for” in regards to the money raised for the truckers' protest on the platform and how it would be dispersed.

“We want to thank the hundreds of residents of Ottawa who have stepped forward to show us support, provided accommodations, food and just plain friendship to members of our convoy,” she said. “This love of community is what Canada is all about.”

Also speaking at the press conference was Daniel Bulford, a former RCMP officer who quit over the service’s vaccine mandate. Bulford said he has seen truckers and supporters of the movement feeding the homeless, picking up trash on the streets, shovelling snow at and guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Terry Fox memorial statue.