Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R) issued a proclamation offering his support for the Canadian Freedom Convoy. Patronis announced the proclamation through Twitter.
“Florida stands with the truckers of Canada,” Patronis said. “May Trudeau’s repression come to an end. #CanadaTruckersForFreedom”
Florida stands with the truckers of Canada. May Trudeau's repression come to an end. #CanadaTruckersForFreedom pic.twitter.com/NpMUP5ziRA
— Jimmy Patronis (@JimmyPatronis) February 14, 2022
In the proclamation, Patronis criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s policies as “oppressive.”
“WHEREAS, the Canadian Prime Minister established an oppressive measure requiring unvaccinated Canadian truckers crossing two nations’ boundaries to face quarantine or testing once they returned home; and
“WHEREAS, hard-working freedom loving Canadian truckers banned together in protest to demonstrate their opposition to the Canadian Prime Minister’s vaccine mandate and the violation of their personal freedoms; and
…
WHEREAS, the Canadian truckers’ demands are simply tied to personal freedom from government overreach and the liberty to choose to be vaccinated without the threat of a mandate or the implementation of contract [sic] tracing programs; and
…
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal of the State of Florida does commend and support the
CANADIAN TRUCKER “FREEDOM CONVOY”
and stands by their right to demand personal freedom and opposition to repression by the Trudeau government.”
The move by Patronis is the latest in the public rebuke from Florida’s elected officials toward the Canadian government. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) announced they would be investigating GoFundMe after the company pulled the fundraising page for the convoy.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced he would be invoking never-before-used emergency powers to end the protests. The government now has the authority to freeze private citizens’ bank accounts, tow vehicles, and target crowdfunding sites that are funding the convoy.
The Florida Capital Star reached out to Patronis’ office for comment regarding the most recent news of the emergency powers implementation but did not hear back.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Background Photo “Freedom Convoy” by GoToVan. CC BY 2.0.
