WASHINGTON, DC - US Sen. Steve Daines remains "proud" of truckers protesting COVID-19 policies in Canada, saying he understands the frustrations being shared by U.S. truckers as well.
The protest that backed up traffic at the border crossing between Coutts, Alberta and Sweetgrass entered its seventh day Friday, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) remains unsure when the remaining blockade will clear.
CONTINUING COVERAGE
- Truckers, Montana town feeling impact of Canadian border closure
- Truckers stranded in Montana surprised with food, toiletry donations
- RCMP responds to 'Freedom Convoy' at Alberta-Montana border
- Traffic closed at Coutts-Sweet Grass port of entry
- Trucks backed up for miles at Alberta-Montana border
- "Potential travel delays" at Port of Sweetgrass
- People gather on Hi-Line to support 'Freedom Convoy'
Trucks gathered on Saturday, Jan. 29 in support of the cross-Canadian convoy which reached Ottawa, demonstrating government mandates for vaccinations. Arrangements have been made to open one lane of traffic, so some deliveries are getting through to Montana.
Daines told MTN News he's not surprised by the demonstrations, reflecting back on his meeting with Montana trucking companies late last year, where operators expressed similar concerns about U.S. requirements.
"They don't pass the common sense test for these truckers. They say, 'what about natural immunity'. Why isn't that figured into the calculus in terms of immunity? Why have the people in D.C. lost their minds as it relates to how they're trying to manage this pandemic. And the frustration has risen. They risk perhaps anywhere from 10%-to-30% of their workforce could lose their jobs over these mandates, at a time when we don't have enough filled to begin with." - US Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT)
Daines believes the "truckers want to do their jobs every day to safely deliver goods" and says when government policies "harm business", you "harm the supply chain."
Watch an extended interview with Sen. Steve Daines below.
