Truckers bring fuel-cost frustrations through Fort St. John

There were a lot of big trucks making their way through Fort St. John on Oct. 1, but this time they weren’t hauling much of anything.

Drivers gathered near the UFA frontage road that morning before heading out together along the Alaska Highway, eventually turning down 100 Street and making their way toward the Fort St. John Curling Club as part of a rally focused on fuel prices and the growing cost of keeping trucks on the road.

Numerous trucks took part in the slow roll, eventually filling much of the parking area outside the curling club.

More than 50 people gathered there afterward, with drivers, families and supporters sticking around for a barbecue, a few short speeches and plenty of time to compare experiences and talk about the costs and frustrations that brought them out in the first place.

Independent Peace River North candidates Jordan Kealy and Wayne Bell were both among those who attended and gave short speeches outside the curling club. Kealy is seeking re-election as an independent, while Bell has also entered the Peace River North race.

Kealy had been encouraging people to take part before the rally, writing on Facebook that higher diesel prices eventually work their way well beyond the people filling the tanks.

“Fuel is the blood of the supply chain. When diesel skyrockets, the cost of moving everything goes up,” Kealy wrote.

He pointed to groceries, vehicle parts, clothing, building materials and medicine as examples of the things that eventually spend some time on a truck.

“If a truck brought it, high fuel helped make it more expensive,” he wrote.

Kealy, who also farms, said beforehand that rising costs were something he was feeling himself.

“I’m going to be participating to show my support for the truckers and as a farmer, I can definitely feel the pain as costs go up,” he wrote.

His post argued that truckers aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure.

“This isn’t abstract,” Kealy wrote. “It’s why your grocery bill keeps climbing and why small businesses are getting squeezed.”

He also called for people frustrated with those costs to make themselves heard.

“Showing up, sharing this, and making noise forces the issue onto the agenda,” Kealy wrote.

By the time the trucks were parked and the barbecue was going outside the curling club, much of the afternoon had settled into something considerably quieter than the convoy that brought everyone there.

People stood around talking about fuel, work, operating costs and what it takes to keep a truck moving, with plenty of experiences being shared between drivers and supporters.

“Truckers keep this country moving. When they can’t afford to run, we all pay more,” Kealy wrote.

Around the North Peace, where trucks are tied into oil and gas, construction, agriculture and plenty of what moves through the region every day, there were no shortage of people at the rally with their own reasons for showing up.

The convoy was certainly the loudest part of the day but once the engines were shut off, there was still plenty being said.