N.B. business owner says he donated $75,000 to Freedom Convoy
CBC
A business owner from the southern New Brunswick village of Sussex Corner has confirmed he made what appears to be one of the largest donations to the Freedom Convoy that has gridlocked the streets of Ottawa around Parliament Hill.
In a written statement Monday afternoon, Brad Howland called the protest "a beautiful, legal, peaceful protest" that he visited on the weekend.
"To see the love, peace, and unity that many of us have longed for, for a long time — It was an experience of a lifetime," he wrote.
"This will go down in the history books of our nation."
In fact, the protest has forced many downtown businesses to close and violates several laws.
It's now the subject of the federal Emergencies Act, which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked on Monday.
CBC News has reviewed information that appears to identify tens of thousands of Freedom Convoy donors to the website GiveSendGo.
The data, hacked and released briefly on its front page, includes names, locations, dollar amounts, personal email addresses, even the credit card companies used for each transaction.
CBC has not been able to independently confirm if the people on the list did in fact donate to the Freedom Convoy.
Howland confirmed to CBC News that his donation was $75,000.
A database from GiveSendGo released publicly lists that as the second-highest amount of all donations.
A sign supporting truckers was visible at Easy Kleen's property near a Highway 1 off-ramp earlier this month.
Howland said in his statement that Easy Kleen has been in business for more than 40 years and has relied on truckers for deliveries to and from the factory.
He called truckers "salt of the earth people with the biggest hearts" and said the convoy is a rare opportunity to thank them.
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