They have no truck with agitators Landmark-based transport firm’s owners paid workers to get vaccinated, fed up with vocal-minority protesters
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/02/2022 (947 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
As the protesters blocking the Emerson border began to disperse Wednesday afternoon, some of their fellow truckers said they’d remember the vocal minority in their industry having made “a lot of noise for nothing.”
Plett Trucking has been transporting food across Canada and the U.S. since 1968. The Landmark-based company has more than 40 trucks.
“We try to put food on the table, that’s our primary goal,” said Tim Plett, who owns the company with his wife Jenny.
They encouraged their employees to get vaccinated — offering financial incentives — before the federal government implemented the mandate last month for essential workers, including truckers, to enter Canada.
Manitoba trucker vows to stay in Ottawa
Posted:
OTTAWA — Manitoba trucker Clarence Penner was unfazed Wednesday as Ottawa police started handing out notices, urging his peers to drive their big rigs off Parliament Hill or risk arrest.
All but one of their workers got their shots.
“One of the guys, I made his appointments for him, not with any forcing, but just trying to say, ‘Hey, look, we think this is the best way out of this,’” Jenny said.
“So, when it came to the border mandates, we were well-prepared, where there are other companies in this area who have had very different attitudes and were not prepared for this.”
That’s why, when truckers choked off international traffic at the border, Tim said it felt like “a slap in the face” for those in the industry making an effort to follow public-health orders.
“To have them close the border for something where there’s no purpose other than people’s selfish reasons to not get vaccinated, knowing that they’ve had months to prepare themselves that this was coming,” he said.
“To have them close the border for something where there’s no purpose other than people’s selfish reasons to not get vaccinated, knowing that they’ve had months to prepare themselves that this was coming.” – Tim Plett
That slap in the face comes after a long and extremely difficult four months in the trucking industry. Plett Trucking was one of many companies affected by November’s flooding in B.C. , along with the miserable mix of multiple blizzards, extreme cold and short-staffing due to COVID-19.
The vast majority of truck drivers and operators in Canada are vaccinated, Tim said, and a tiny percentage of unvaccinated drivers would be required to cross the border.
“There’s lots of work in Canada, if that’s what you want to do,” he said. “You’re not losing your job because you can’t go over the border, you’re losing your job because you’re an idiot.”
The 50-plus farm vehicles, semi-trailer trucks and other vehicles blocking the border began preparing to leave Wednesday morning after reaching an agreement with RCMP that ensured no tickets would be issued.
RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said the focus Wednesday was on removing the blockade, not worrying about whether the truckers would return.
“They wanted to get their message across, which I believe they have, and we wanted to make sure they understood where we were coming from,” he told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
The Pletts commended the work of the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency, adding they’ve seen people they know on TV participating in the ‘freedom convoy’ that has taken over downtown Ottawa since Jan. 28.
“When I watch the video coming out of Ottawa, I recognize more than one. I used to drive trucks, so what I do is I watch for trucks and when I see the video, I recognize half a dozen trucks that are on camera,” Tim said. “I don’t want to call them morons, but that’s where my heart goes.”
In Landmark, about 30 kilometres south of Winnipeg, people are generally more amenable to getting vaccinated and following guidelines than in some southern Manitoba communities, but they noted there are “activists that are very vocal” in the mix, too.
“There’s lots of work in Canada, if that’s what you want to do. You’re not losing your job because you can’t go over the border, you’re losing your job because you’re an idiot.” – Tim Plett
Tim contracted COVID-19 about a year-and-a-half ago, when there were very few people in their area with the virus and “a lot of stigma and a lot of confusion” around contracting it, he said, adding he continues to experience long-term symptoms.
Jenny said she and Tim have since become inspired after reading news stories about health-care clinics struggling under the weight of the pandemic and have been handing out tokens of appreciation, including gift cards and care packages, for health workers in Steinbach, Morden, St. Pierre-Jolys and the COVID-19 ward at St. Boniface Hospital.
“Just to put a smile on someone’s face and say, ‘You know what, there are still people… that give a crap, that aren’t all about the convoy,’” Tim said. “This started before the convoy but definitely got enhanced by that. But there was so much negativity in the southeast, that to do a little bit to counter it was worth a lot.”
“There will always be reasons to do acts of kindness beyond the pandemic,” Jenny added.
Now, both in Ottawa and Manitoba, they said a loud minority are giving the work they do a bad name.
“People will think of trucks, in general, now because of all the publicity that’s been heaped on this, that we’re a bunch of rednecks and we’re cowboys, and that’s not the case,” Tim said.
“It’s another business, and I think we run a good business. And we’re not marching or blocking borders or anything like that. That’s not what we do. We’re here to make a living.”
“It’s another business, and I think we run a good business. And we’re not marching or blocking borders or anything like that. That’s not what we do. We’re here to make a living.” – Tim Plett
And when the convoy in Ottawa inevitably clears and the dust settles, the couple doesn’t believe much will have changed.
“As far as the convoys are concerned, that’s all done, and now whoever wins or loses, it doesn’t matter,” Tim said.
“The government has made announcements that the restrictions are going away… But the border-crossing mandates, that hasn’t changed, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.”
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
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History
Updated on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 8:05 PM CST: Fixes typo.
Updated on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 9:03 PM CST: Fixes typo.
