Evangelicals who are present in large numbers in downtown Ottawa make it their mission to help the freedom march, from Sunday sermons to preparing meals.
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“The movement of truckers is unstoppable because God is everywhere here,” says Shannon Lauren, of Ottawa City Church, handing out pastries, coffee and bibles on Sunday morning under a small crowded tent.
A little later, members of the huge Billy Graham Baptist Church, very present in English Canada, offered passers-by to pray for them.
“We pray for people who have lost their jobs because of compulsory vaccination or because grandmothers are worried about their grandchildren,” Sandra explains.
On this Lord’s Day, an Ontario pastor against vaccination was also scheduled to give a sermon on the main podium, in front of Parliament.
“Our freedom is at stake. […] Truck drivers’ horn is a legitimate crime that should be rid of persecution, Henry Hildebrandt launched under the “Amen” a hundred people.
His words were translated only by the controversial priest Carlos Norbal. The latter made headlines in the fall of 2020 for the illegitimate masses he held in front of a large audience at the Church of the New Creation in Montreal.
“We have become a global liberation movement,” he shouted.
Nora T.’s photo. La Montagne
Alan Bronken, a religious news specialist, was not surprised to see religious organizations disembark the Freedom Caravan due to their mistrust of the state.
Truck drivers demands [affaiblir] “The government is on their side,” he asserts.
Some religious groups have always had mistrust of the state. So very early in the pandemic, churches fiercely resisted sanitary measures. The demonstration is the culmination of that,” adds Frederic Boyle, Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta.
He also argues that this is a golden opportunity for them to search for new followers.
“They have a window to come forward with their ideas. Distribution of cakes is a way to see, de-extremism and soften its image,” explains the Research Associate at the Center for Expertise and Training on Religious Fundamentalism and Extremism.
Matthew Silver, who identifies himself as a Baptist, saw liberty as a promising topic of dialogue between truck drivers and the religious.
“Total coffee aficionado. Travel buff. Music ninja. Bacon nerd. Beeraholic.”
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