Publication date: August 30, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 6 minutes read • 7 comments Judy Martens, known on social media as ‘Rosie Convoy’, at the former St. Brigid on Friday, August 26, 2022. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. Photo by Ashley Fraser/POSTMEDIA

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Last winter, in the dead of an endless pandemic, Judy Martens says she was in a dark place.

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She had lost her job as a “glorified litter box cleaner” at a veterinary clinic in her hometown of Kelowna, BC, and moved in with her parents to help care for her father after a third stroke. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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They made her double teno and masked. “I even wore (a mask) to drive-thrus because I wanted people to see how much I cared about them by wearing it non-stop.” Today, Martens is also known by her social media handle ‘Rosie Convoy’. She has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Last week, he stood on the steps of a former church on St. a homemade crown and holding a foil scepter.

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Martens was dancing in St. Patrick in the night in a constellation of friends of freedom. Her jeep, where she sometimes sleeps, is in the church parking lot. It is plastered with slogans: No more orders. Stand up for freedom. Honk honk. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. TUPOC leased St. Brigid’s for an “embassy” that is open to all, but is a magnet for people who sympathize with the “Freedom Convoy” movement. She’s happy to head to a nearby ByWard Market patio, away from the confrontation between TUPOC supporters and neighborhood protesters who insult each other under the watchful eyes of Ottawa police officers, to tell her story. Martens is 42 years old, with a friendly, open manner.

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Her life took a turn on January 29, 2022, she explains. A friend asked her to join a demonstration in Kelowna that day held in solidarity with the truck convoys arriving in Ottawa. Ottawa protesters ended up blocking downtown streets for three weeks in an ongoing grassroots rebellion against the COVID-19 vaccine and mandate, public health protections such as wearing masks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his liberal government and a variety of other grievances. causes and conspiracies united under the slogan ‘freedom’. Martens’ extended Mennonite family is full of truckers. Her dad and some of her brothers have driven trucks at some point, as have aunts, uncles and in-laws. She liked the idea of ​​supporting truckers and made a sign for the Kelowna protest that read “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

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Martens arrived at the Kelowna rally to find a gridlock with “people with flags and vehicles, with their hazards, and people shouting and hugging and no masks in sight. “I was like a kid in a candy store. Everywhere I looked, joy and life and camaraderie and Canadian pride. I was like hungry eating it all with my eyes, right?’ Martens found herself screaming, “I love you!” to strangers. “It gave me hope,” Martens explains now. Judy Martens has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia When she got home, Martens turned on the TV news and was shocked to see that there was no story about the rally. It was the beginning of a now entrenched suspicion that the “mainstream media” does not reflect reality. “What else were they lying to me about? What else? It was like opening Pandora’s box.”

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Martens’ opinion of Justin Trudeau also changed after the prime minister called the marchers in the convoy a fringe minority with unacceptable views who ran racist and misogynistic. “Honestly, I thought Justin Trudeau was so handsome, I thought he was so awesome,” Martens says. She lost respect for him after he branded an entire group of people with a “tiny label of his choosing,” she says. Martens began watching YouTube live streams of the Ottawa protest all day and night and exchanging information, “love and hugs” on Facebook with “freedom groups” in New Zealand. “I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand. I’m a big Lord of the Rings nerd,” he says with a laugh. When police moved in to remove the Ottawa protesters and tow away their trucks, Martens said she was “devastated, devastated, desperate.

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“I wanted to be there to help.” In the spring, Martens became the Facebook administrator for “Rolling Thunder,” another “freedom” event in Ottawa. When a trucker friend paid her gas money, Martens finally got a chance to make it to Ottawa. He arrived in time to see a motorcycle parade ride past the National War Memorial in late April. The main organizer of “Rolling Thunder” greeted her with a big hug. “He’s an awesome guy.” Judy Martens stands guard next to William Comer, director of TUPOC, during a media conference on August 25, 2022, at the former St. Brigid’s. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Since then, Martens has couch-surfed and camped out in Ottawa-area backyards and at the KOA campground in Renfrew, which was the headquarters of “freedom” groups in the city for the Canada Day protests. He also spent several weeks in rural Ontario with “Peace Man,” a part of Ottawa’s winter protest procession with his long gray beard, dressed head-to-toe in camouflage and waving a Canadian flag.

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This did not end well. “He wanted me to be his girl forever, so it was awkward,” says Martens. Now he’s bashing her on social media. There are plenty of good-looking truckers in the movement, Martens says, but she’s not looking for romance or commitment. Her views have changed on the pandemic. After hearing from people who said they had bad reactions to the vaccine, Martens says she now “has a lot of questions” about the COVID-19 vaccine. “I think I dodged a bullet because nothing happened to me.” “The bottom line is that I believe in freedom of choice,” Martens explains during another conversation on the steps of St. Brigid’s. Live and let live, as long as your choices don’t hurt others. And if one person’s choice not to wear a mask or get vaccinated puts others at risk by spreading the virus?

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“I’m not sure,” she says thoughtfully. “It is difficult for me”. Martens acknowledges that some people in Ottawa felt intimidated by the winter “Freedom Convoy,” with its air horns, diesel fumes and “F–k Trudeau” signs. There were complaints of intimidation and harassment by some protesters and businesses were closed. Martens says she does not condone hateful behavior. He gestures to an anti-TUPOC protester across the street holding a ‘Go Home Terrorists’ sign. “I think there should be more respect from both sides.” Martens said TUPOC is also criticized by some in the freedom movement, including Peace Man, for damaging the cause by creating a circus-like atmosphere in the church with its king’s uniform and water guns.

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She shrugs, saying it was meant as comic relief. Martens isn’t sure how long she’ll be in Ottawa. “Freedom” friends feel like family, he says. But she’d also like to come home to Kelowna because her dad had another stroke this week, Martens says, teary-eyed. However, he would need several thousand dollars in gas money which he does not have. And the future back home is uncertain. Kelowna may be a tourist paradise in a lush valley, but it’s getting harder and harder for the everyday people who live there. “Even for a very, very small dilapidated basement suite, you’re looking at $1,400 a month,” says Martens. “I’m not kidding you. So it’s extremely difficult for anyone to get an apartment.” He is still in awe of…

title: “The Rosie Convoy Is A Regular At The Tupoc Stop In St. Brigid S Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-04” author: “Eugene Booth”

Publication date: August 30, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 6 minutes read • 7 comments Judy Martens, known on social media as ‘Rosie Convoy’, at the former St. Brigid on Friday, August 26, 2022. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. Photo by Ashley Fraser/POSTMEDIA

Content of the article

Last winter, in the dead of an endless pandemic, Judy Martens says she was in a dark place.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

She had lost her job as a “glorified litter box cleaner” at a veterinary clinic in her hometown of Kelowna, BC, and moved in with her parents to help care for her father after a third stroke. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

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A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder. The next issue of the Ottawa Citizen Headline News will be in your inbox soon. We encountered a problem with your registration. PLEASE try again

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They made her double teno and masked. “I even wore (a mask) to drive-thrus because I wanted people to see how much I cared about them by wearing it non-stop.” Today, Martens is also known by her social media handle ‘Rosie Convoy’. She has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Last week, he stood on the steps of a former church on St. a homemade crown and holding a foil scepter.

Advertising 3

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Content of the article

Martens was dancing in St. Patrick in the night in a constellation of friends of freedom. Her jeep, where she sometimes sleeps, is in the church parking lot. It is plastered with slogans: No more orders. Stand up for freedom. Honk honk. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. TUPOC leased St. Brigid’s for an “embassy” that is open to all, but is a magnet for people who sympathize with the “Freedom Convoy” movement. She’s happy to head to a nearby ByWard Market patio, away from the confrontation between TUPOC supporters and neighborhood protesters who insult each other under the watchful eyes of Ottawa police officers, to tell her story. Martens is 42 years old, with a friendly, open manner.

Advertising 4

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Content of the article

Her life took a turn on January 29, 2022, she explains. A friend asked her to join a demonstration in Kelowna that day held in solidarity with the truck convoys arriving in Ottawa. Ottawa protesters ended up blocking downtown streets for three weeks in an ongoing grassroots rebellion against the COVID-19 vaccine and mandate, public health protections such as wearing masks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his liberal government and a variety of other grievances. causes and conspiracies united under the slogan ‘freedom’. Martens’ extended Mennonite family is full of truckers. Her dad and some of her brothers have driven trucks at some point, as have aunts, uncles and in-laws. She liked the idea of ​​supporting truckers and made a sign for the Kelowna protest that read “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

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This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Martens arrived at the Kelowna rally to find a gridlock with “people with flags and vehicles, with their hazards, and people shouting and hugging and no masks in sight. “I was like a kid in a candy store. Everywhere I looked, joy and life and camaraderie and Canadian pride. I was like hungry eating it all with my eyes, right?’ Martens found herself screaming, “I love you!” to strangers. “It gave me hope,” Martens explains now. Judy Martens has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia When she got home, Martens turned on the TV news and was shocked to see that there was no story about the rally. It was the beginning of a now entrenched suspicion that the “mainstream media” does not reflect reality. “What else were they lying to me about? What else? It was like opening Pandora’s box.”

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Content of the article

Martens’ opinion of Justin Trudeau also changed after the prime minister called the marchers in the convoy a fringe minority with unacceptable views who ran racist and misogynistic. “Honestly, I thought Justin Trudeau was so handsome, I thought he was so awesome,” Martens says. She lost respect for him after he branded an entire group of people with a “tiny label of his choosing,” she says. Martens began watching YouTube live streams of the Ottawa protest all day and night and exchanging information, “love and hugs” on Facebook with “freedom groups” in New Zealand. “I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand. I’m a big Lord of the Rings nerd,” he says with a laugh. When police moved in to remove the Ottawa protesters and tow away their trucks, Martens said she was “devastated, devastated, desperate.

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Content of the article

“I wanted to be there to help.” In the spring, Martens became the Facebook administrator for “Rolling Thunder,” another “freedom” event in Ottawa. When a trucker friend paid her gas money, Martens finally got a chance to make it to Ottawa. He arrived in time to see a motorcycle parade ride past the National War Memorial in late April. The main organizer of “Rolling Thunder” greeted her with a big hug. “He’s an awesome guy.” Judy Martens stands guard next to William Comer, director of TUPOC, during a media conference on August 25, 2022, at the former St. Brigid’s. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Since then, Martens has couch-surfed and camped out in Ottawa-area backyards and at the KOA campground in Renfrew, which was the headquarters of “freedom” groups in the city for the Canada Day protests. He also spent several weeks in rural Ontario with “Peace Man,” a part of Ottawa’s winter protest procession with his long gray beard, dressed head-to-toe in camouflage and waving a Canadian flag.

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Content of the article

This did not end well. “He wanted me to be his girl forever, so it was awkward,” says Martens. Now he’s bashing her on social media. There are plenty of good-looking truckers in the movement, Martens says, but she’s not looking for romance or commitment. Her views have changed on the pandemic. After hearing from people who said they had bad reactions to the vaccine, Martens says she now “has a lot of questions” about the COVID-19 vaccine. “I think I dodged a bullet because nothing happened to me.” “The bottom line is that I believe in freedom of choice,” Martens explains during another conversation on the steps of St. Brigid’s. Live and let live, as long as your choices don’t hurt others. And if one person’s choice not to wear a mask or get vaccinated puts others at risk by spreading the virus?

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

“I’m not sure,” she says thoughtfully. “It is difficult for me”. Martens acknowledges that some people in Ottawa felt intimidated by the winter “Freedom Convoy,” with its air horns, diesel fumes and “F–k Trudeau” signs. There were complaints of intimidation and harassment by some protesters and businesses were closed. Martens says she does not condone hateful behavior. He gestures to an anti-TUPOC protester across the street holding a ‘Go Home Terrorists’ sign. “I think there should be more respect from both sides.” Martens said TUPOC is also criticized by some in the freedom movement, including Peace Man, for damaging the cause by creating a circus-like atmosphere in the church with its king’s uniform and water guns.

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Content of the article

She shrugs, saying it was meant as comic relief. Martens isn’t sure how long she’ll be in Ottawa. “Freedom” friends feel like family, he says. But she’d also like to come home to Kelowna because her dad had another stroke this week, Martens says, teary-eyed. However, he would need several thousand dollars in gas money which he does not have. And the future back home is uncertain. Kelowna may be a tourist paradise in a lush valley, but it’s getting harder and harder for the everyday people who live there. “Even for a very, very small dilapidated basement suite, you’re looking at $1,400 a month,” says Martens. “I’m not kidding you. So it’s extremely difficult for anyone to get an apartment.” He is still in awe of…

title: “The Rosie Convoy Is A Regular At The Tupoc Stop In St. Brigid S Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-29” author: “Joyce Ortega”

Publication date: August 30, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 6 minutes read • 7 comments Judy Martens, known on social media as ‘Rosie Convoy’, at the former St. Brigid on Friday, August 26, 2022. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. Photo by Ashley Fraser/POSTMEDIA

Content of the article

Last winter, in the dead of an endless pandemic, Judy Martens says she was in a dark place.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

She had lost her job as a “glorified litter box cleaner” at a veterinary clinic in her hometown of Kelowna, BC, and moved in with her parents to help care for her father after a third stroke. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

Thanks for subscribing!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder. The next issue of the Ottawa Citizen Headline News will be in your inbox soon. We encountered a problem with your registration. PLEASE try again

Content of the article

They made her double teno and masked. “I even wore (a mask) to drive-thrus because I wanted people to see how much I cared about them by wearing it non-stop.” Today, Martens is also known by her social media handle ‘Rosie Convoy’. She has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Last week, he stood on the steps of a former church on St. a homemade crown and holding a foil scepter.

Advertising 3

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Martens was dancing in St. Patrick in the night in a constellation of friends of freedom. Her jeep, where she sometimes sleeps, is in the church parking lot. It is plastered with slogans: No more orders. Stand up for freedom. Honk honk. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. TUPOC leased St. Brigid’s for an “embassy” that is open to all, but is a magnet for people who sympathize with the “Freedom Convoy” movement. She’s happy to head to a nearby ByWard Market patio, away from the confrontation between TUPOC supporters and neighborhood protesters who insult each other under the watchful eyes of Ottawa police officers, to tell her story. Martens is 42 years old, with a friendly, open manner.

Advertising 4

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Her life took a turn on January 29, 2022, she explains. A friend asked her to join a demonstration in Kelowna that day held in solidarity with the truck convoys arriving in Ottawa. Ottawa protesters ended up blocking downtown streets for three weeks in an ongoing grassroots rebellion against the COVID-19 vaccine and mandate, public health protections such as wearing masks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his liberal government and a variety of other grievances. causes and conspiracies united under the slogan ‘freedom’. Martens’ extended Mennonite family is full of truckers. Her dad and some of her brothers have driven trucks at some point, as have aunts, uncles and in-laws. She liked the idea of ​​supporting truckers and made a sign for the Kelowna protest that read “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

Advertising 5

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Martens arrived at the Kelowna rally to find a gridlock with “people with flags and vehicles, with their hazards, and people shouting and hugging and no masks in sight. “I was like a kid in a candy store. Everywhere I looked, joy and life and camaraderie and Canadian pride. I was like hungry eating it all with my eyes, right?’ Martens found herself screaming, “I love you!” to strangers. “It gave me hope,” Martens explains now. Judy Martens has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia When she got home, Martens turned on the TV news and was shocked to see that there was no story about the rally. It was the beginning of a now entrenched suspicion that the “mainstream media” does not reflect reality. “What else were they lying to me about? What else? It was like opening Pandora’s box.”

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Martens’ opinion of Justin Trudeau also changed after the prime minister called the marchers in the convoy a fringe minority with unacceptable views who ran racist and misogynistic. “Honestly, I thought Justin Trudeau was so handsome, I thought he was so awesome,” Martens says. She lost respect for him after he branded an entire group of people with a “tiny label of his choosing,” she says. Martens began watching YouTube live streams of the Ottawa protest all day and night and exchanging information, “love and hugs” on Facebook with “freedom groups” in New Zealand. “I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand. I’m a big Lord of the Rings nerd,” he says with a laugh. When police moved in to remove the Ottawa protesters and tow away their trucks, Martens said she was “devastated, devastated, desperate.

Advertising 7

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

“I wanted to be there to help.” In the spring, Martens became the Facebook administrator for “Rolling Thunder,” another “freedom” event in Ottawa. When a trucker friend paid her gas money, Martens finally got a chance to make it to Ottawa. He arrived in time to see a motorcycle parade ride past the National War Memorial in late April. The main organizer of “Rolling Thunder” greeted her with a big hug. “He’s an awesome guy.” Judy Martens stands guard next to William Comer, director of TUPOC, during a media conference on August 25, 2022, at the former St. Brigid’s. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Since then, Martens has couch-surfed and camped out in Ottawa-area backyards and at the KOA campground in Renfrew, which was the headquarters of “freedom” groups in the city for the Canada Day protests. He also spent several weeks in rural Ontario with “Peace Man,” a part of Ottawa’s winter protest procession with his long gray beard, dressed head-to-toe in camouflage and waving a Canadian flag.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

This did not end well. “He wanted me to be his girl forever, so it was awkward,” says Martens. Now he’s bashing her on social media. There are plenty of good-looking truckers in the movement, Martens says, but she’s not looking for romance or commitment. Her views have changed on the pandemic. After hearing from people who said they had bad reactions to the vaccine, Martens says she now “has a lot of questions” about the COVID-19 vaccine. “I think I dodged a bullet because nothing happened to me.” “The bottom line is that I believe in freedom of choice,” Martens explains during another conversation on the steps of St. Brigid’s. Live and let live, as long as your choices don’t hurt others. And if one person’s choice not to wear a mask or get vaccinated puts others at risk by spreading the virus?

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

“I’m not sure,” she says thoughtfully. “It is difficult for me”. Martens acknowledges that some people in Ottawa felt intimidated by the winter “Freedom Convoy,” with its air horns, diesel fumes and “F–k Trudeau” signs. There were complaints of intimidation and harassment by some protesters and businesses were closed. Martens says she does not condone hateful behavior. He gestures to an anti-TUPOC protester across the street holding a ‘Go Home Terrorists’ sign. “I think there should be more respect from both sides.” Martens said TUPOC is also criticized by some in the freedom movement, including Peace Man, for damaging the cause by creating a circus-like atmosphere in the church with its king’s uniform and water guns.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

She shrugs, saying it was meant as comic relief. Martens isn’t sure how long she’ll be in Ottawa. “Freedom” friends feel like family, he says. But she’d also like to come home to Kelowna because her dad had another stroke this week, Martens says, teary-eyed. However, he would need several thousand dollars in gas money which he does not have. And the future back home is uncertain. Kelowna may be a tourist paradise in a lush valley, but it’s getting harder and harder for the everyday people who live there. “Even for a very, very small dilapidated basement suite, you’re looking at $1,400 a month,” says Martens. “I’m not kidding you. So it’s extremely difficult for anyone to get an apartment.” He is still in awe of…

title: “The Rosie Convoy Is A Regular At The Tupoc Stop In St. Brigid S Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Justin Prince”

Publication date: August 30, 2022 • 1 hour ago • 6 minutes read • 7 comments Judy Martens, known on social media as ‘Rosie Convoy’, at the former St. Brigid on Friday, August 26, 2022. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. Photo by Ashley Fraser/POSTMEDIA

Content of the article

Last winter, in the dead of an endless pandemic, Judy Martens says she was in a dark place.

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

She had lost her job as a “glorified litter box cleaner” at a veterinary clinic in her hometown of Kelowna, BC, and moved in with her parents to help care for her father after a third stroke. Sign up to receive daily news headlines from the Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. By clicking the subscribe button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

Thanks for subscribing!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, check your spam folder. The next issue of the Ottawa Citizen Headline News will be in your inbox soon. We encountered a problem with your registration. PLEASE try again

Content of the article

They made her double teno and masked. “I even wore (a mask) to drive-thrus because I wanted people to see how much I cared about them by wearing it non-stop.” Today, Martens is also known by her social media handle ‘Rosie Convoy’. She has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Last week, he stood on the steps of a former church on St. a homemade crown and holding a foil scepter.

Advertising 3

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Martens was dancing in St. Patrick in the night in a constellation of friends of freedom. Her jeep, where she sometimes sleeps, is in the church parking lot. It is plastered with slogans: No more orders. Stand up for freedom. Honk honk. Martens is a mainstay among TUPOC supporters trying to prevent eviction from the church. TUPOC leased St. Brigid’s for an “embassy” that is open to all, but is a magnet for people who sympathize with the “Freedom Convoy” movement. She’s happy to head to a nearby ByWard Market patio, away from the confrontation between TUPOC supporters and neighborhood protesters who insult each other under the watchful eyes of Ottawa police officers, to tell her story. Martens is 42 years old, with a friendly, open manner.

Advertising 4

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Her life took a turn on January 29, 2022, she explains. A friend asked her to join a demonstration in Kelowna that day held in solidarity with the truck convoys arriving in Ottawa. Ottawa protesters ended up blocking downtown streets for three weeks in an ongoing grassroots rebellion against the COVID-19 vaccine and mandate, public health protections such as wearing masks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his liberal government and a variety of other grievances. causes and conspiracies united under the slogan ‘freedom’. Martens’ extended Mennonite family is full of truckers. Her dad and some of her brothers have driven trucks at some point, as have aunts, uncles and in-laws. She liked the idea of ​​supporting truckers and made a sign for the Kelowna protest that read “don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

Advertising 5

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Martens arrived at the Kelowna rally to find a gridlock with “people with flags and vehicles, with their hazards, and people shouting and hugging and no masks in sight. “I was like a kid in a candy store. Everywhere I looked, joy and life and camaraderie and Canadian pride. I was like hungry eating it all with my eyes, right?’ Martens found herself screaming, “I love you!” to strangers. “It gave me hope,” Martens explains now. Judy Martens has been in Ottawa for four months and is having the time of her life. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia When she got home, Martens turned on the TV news and was shocked to see that there was no story about the rally. It was the beginning of a now entrenched suspicion that the “mainstream media” does not reflect reality. “What else were they lying to me about? What else? It was like opening Pandora’s box.”

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Content of the article

Martens’ opinion of Justin Trudeau also changed after the prime minister called the marchers in the convoy a fringe minority with unacceptable views who ran racist and misogynistic. “Honestly, I thought Justin Trudeau was so handsome, I thought he was so awesome,” Martens says. She lost respect for him after he branded an entire group of people with a “tiny label of his choosing,” she says. Martens began watching YouTube live streams of the Ottawa protest all day and night and exchanging information, “love and hugs” on Facebook with “freedom groups” in New Zealand. “I’ve always wanted to go to New Zealand. I’m a big Lord of the Rings nerd,” he says with a laugh. When police moved in to remove the Ottawa protesters and tow away their trucks, Martens said she was “devastated, devastated, desperate.

Advertising 7

This ad hasn’t loaded yet, but your article continues below.

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“I wanted to be there to help.” In the spring, Martens became the Facebook administrator for “Rolling Thunder,” another “freedom” event in Ottawa. When a trucker friend paid her gas money, Martens finally got a chance to make it to Ottawa. He arrived in time to see a motorcycle parade ride past the National War Memorial in late April. The main organizer of “Rolling Thunder” greeted her with a big hug. “He’s an awesome guy.” Judy Martens stands guard next to William Comer, director of TUPOC, during a media conference on August 25, 2022, at the former St. Brigid’s. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia Since then, Martens has couch-surfed and camped out in Ottawa-area backyards and at the KOA campground in Renfrew, which was the headquarters of “freedom” groups in the city for the Canada Day protests. He also spent several weeks in rural Ontario with “Peace Man,” a part of Ottawa’s winter protest procession with his long gray beard, dressed head-to-toe in camouflage and waving a Canadian flag.

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This did not end well. “He wanted me to be his girl forever, so it was awkward,” says Martens. Now he’s bashing her on social media. There are plenty of good-looking truckers in the movement, Martens says, but she’s not looking for romance or commitment. Her views have changed on the pandemic. After hearing from people who said they had bad reactions to the vaccine, Martens says she now “has a lot of questions” about the COVID-19 vaccine. “I think I dodged a bullet because nothing happened to me.” “The bottom line is that I believe in freedom of choice,” Martens explains during another conversation on the steps of St. Brigid’s. Live and let live, as long as your choices don’t hurt others. And if one person’s choice not to wear a mask or get vaccinated puts others at risk by spreading the virus?

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“I’m not sure,” she says thoughtfully. “It is difficult for me”. Martens acknowledges that some people in Ottawa felt intimidated by the winter “Freedom Convoy,” with its air horns, diesel fumes and “F–k Trudeau” signs. There were complaints of intimidation and harassment by some protesters and businesses were closed. Martens says she does not condone hateful behavior. He gestures to an anti-TUPOC protester across the street holding a ‘Go Home Terrorists’ sign. “I think there should be more respect from both sides.” Martens said TUPOC is also criticized by some in the freedom movement, including Peace Man, for damaging the cause by creating a circus-like atmosphere in the church with its king’s uniform and water guns.

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She shrugs, saying it was meant as comic relief. Martens isn’t sure how long she’ll be in Ottawa. “Freedom” friends feel like family, he says. But she’d also like to come home to Kelowna because her dad had another stroke this week, Martens says, teary-eyed. However, he would need several thousand dollars in gas money which he does not have. And the future back home is uncertain. Kelowna may be a tourist paradise in a lush valley, but it’s getting harder and harder for the everyday people who live there. “Even for a very, very small dilapidated basement suite, you’re looking at $1,400 a month,” says Martens. “I’m not kidding you. So it’s extremely difficult for anyone to get an apartment.” He is still in awe of…