Well over 100 residents were in attendance at the Constellation Place Activity Center on Monday to welcome James Topp, an outspoken anti-mandate activist who is marching to Ottawa with the intention to meet with members of Parliament.
Topp served as a warrant officer in the Canadian Armed Forces for 25 years before making national headlines in February when he spoke out against the government mandates that required federal employees to be vaccinated.
Topp made those comments while wearing his uniform in two separate videos that made its rounds on social media. As a result, he faces two counts of conduct to the prejudice of good order and discipline.
Despite these charges, Topp has remained determined to reach the nation’s capital by the end of the month, with the goal of establishing a meaningful conversation about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with politicians in Ottawa.
“I have spent the last two years sitting back, saying nothing – and I’m done,” he says. “We need to do something in support of Canadians.”
His journey began at the Terry Fox memorial in Vancouver on Feb. 20 and he has since been walking upwards of 50 kilometres almost daily in his pursuit of reaching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
After January’s three-week long freedom convoy in Ottawa had failed to spark any government action, Topp felt it was necessary to speak out against the mandates and march across the country to help reignite the conversation.
“We need to re-establish contact and meaningful dialogue with our members of Parliament,” he says. “That’s what the truckers tried to do, and they were ignored and insulted, and those two things combined compelled me to participate in this march.”
Although the truckers didn’t accomplish what they were hoping for on paper, Topp feels the convoy was still a success.
“I think they were entirely successful in what they did,” he says. “Because if they didn’t step up, we would be in full-blown vaccine passport territory right now.”
With the help of his ‘Canada Marches’ team, Topp has sent letters and emails to all 338 sitting members of Parliament, as well as every active Canadian senator.
Twelve MPs voiced their interest in meeting with Topp at the end of the month, all of whom are Conservative except for one NDP.
“I speak on behalf of a lot of people when I say enough is enough,” he says. “I do not like the direction this country is going. I disagree with the government imposing mandates on us. I do not believe the state should have the power over my body and what goes into it. End of story.”
His main talking points will boil down to five R’s – repealing the mandates, reinstatement of federal government employees, restitution for wages lost, repair of a divided society, and referendum.
While Topp has been disappointed with how larger media outlets have presented his story, he says good journalism is incredibly helpful to their campaign. But he has not been satisfied with the national press he has received during the march, or the lack thereof.
“We’re not getting any coverage from mainstream media, except for the ones who are choosing to put the story out there about how I’ve been charged,” he says. “The teamwork that’s been displayed to get us here is incredible. It’s a crime it’s not being told to a wider audience.”
After taking a rest in the Sault yesterday, Topp departed early this morning and expects to arrive in Ottawa approximately three weeks from now.
He senses the momentum is building as his team inches closer to the capital, and he encourages anyone interested to join him on the walk during the day.
“We as Canadians need to stand up for what we believe in,” he says. “This country is ours. I put this uniform on for them – to defend this country.”