Have you heard the news? James Topp is marching from the Terry Fox statue in Vancouver, BC to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa, a journey of just under 4,300 kilometres. His journey is chronicled on the website www.canadamarches.ca. He is protesting federal government mandates that require, as a condition for employment or continued employment, vaccination, testing, quarantine, and/or isolation.
According to the website, “James Topp is the author of this idea (Canada Marches). James went public with his story wearing his Canadian Armed Forces uniform sharing his own story of being released from the Armed Forces. This is a huge move to use the uniform as a tool for spreading awareness. James announced in early February of 2022 that he would be marching from Vancouver to Ottawa to protest what is going on, collect stories of Canadians along the way, and get a conversation with the employees of the federal government. The Freedom/Trucker convoy re-invigorated James spirit to do something; it now has him and the Canada Marches team moving across the country aiming to start a conversation which wasn’t had with the truckers. This is being done on instinct, with resourcefulness in mind; a key trait of a good soldier. Solutions are what James is aiming for, not scratching the itch of talking about how we got here.
The division in Canada is high at the moment but there is still that wholesome Canadian spirit which will invite you over to dinner after meeting you and open up our homes to each other. We love Canada because of Canadians.
There are great ones who have gone before us, and this is honoured by the starting location of the Terry Fox Memorial in Vancouver, British Columbia and the finishing location will be the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa. This monumental task will produce some powerful results and the movement along the way is providing new hope for Canadians across the Country.”
James’ estimated time of arrival in Ottawa is late June. In Ontario, he is following highway 17 to Arnprior where the team will announce the remainder of the route due to Hwy rules on the 417. Will you be there to welcome James along the route? www.canadamarches.ca/route-updates