François Laporte, President of Teamsters Canada, made a statement on February 7th, 2022, which can be found at teamsters.ca and below:

Teamsters Canada is proud to represent over 55,000 professional drivers from diverse industries across the country, approximately 15,000 of which are long haul truck drivers, 90% of whom are vaccinated.

The mere fact that 90% of truck drivers are vaccinated does not translate to 90% of truck drivers supporting mandates and COVID measures.

The so-called “freedom convoy” and the despicable display of hate lead by the political Right and shamefully encouraged by elected conservative politicians does not reflect the values of Teamsters Canada, nor the vast majority of our members, and in fact has served to delegitimize the real concerns of most truck drivers today. 

There was and still is absolutely NO hate displayed at or by participants of The Freedom Convoy. Please, get your facts straight.

How exactly do YOU, François Laporte, know that The Freedom Convoy does not reflect the values of Teamsters Canada members? Did you ever ask us? When was the last time you've actually talked to a real-life truck driver? Maybe you should do it soon!

We firmly believe in the right to protest government policies and voice a wide array of opinions, but what is happening in Ottawa has done more harm to Teamsters members, be they Truck Drivers who were trying to deliver their loads, or hotel, restaurant and healthcare workers who were intimidated, abused or prevented from accessing their workplaces, by several protesters.

Has the fight for freedom to live a life free from medical rape, really done more harm than Teamsters Canada, failing to represent many of its members, which caused them to lose their jobs, careers, and livelihood?

Many Teamster Canada members would disagree with your assessment.

Teamsters Canada would welcome collaboration with government and employers to address today’s real challenges in the trucking industry to keep the supply chain going and Canada’s economy growing.

That's exactly what Teamsters Canada was doing: collaborating with government and employers instead of protecting and defending its MEMBERS from illegal and unfair mandates imposed by government and employers.

We join in the calls urging those protesters with legitimate concerns to go back to their own communities and work with local politicians. We are all frustrated and want our lives back, however, let’s ensure we get there respectfully, safely and protect the health of our most vulnerable first.

That's the problem: all protestors with legitimate concerns have already been through all avenues in their local communities, including asking Teamsters Canada for help. None of the concerns were resolved and Teamsters Canada has done NOTHING to protect us. The message that Teamsters Canada is translating all this time is "nothing can be done and we won't do anything".

In reality: lots of things can be done if you actually start working for your members and not "collaborating with government and employers".

We would like to remind you, that YOU WORK FOR US, not the other way around. Your lifestyle is paid for by every Teamsters Canada member's hard-earned money. And YOU ARE ELECTED OFFICIAL, who could and will become NOT elected next time around. This so-called "pandemic" truly showed Teamsters Canada real colors.

We call on François Laporte to retract the statement made on February 7th, 2022, and go back to a drawing board to look hard for ways to SUPPORT and DEFEND their members instead of alienating them.