After completing his 4,300 km march from Vancouver to Ottawa, Canadian Armed Forces Veteran James Topp is ready for more.."It has been seven days since we arrived in Ottawa, and right now we are getting ready for Canada Marches, the sequel," Topp said. "We thought, 'Why stop in Ottawa? Why not keep going to Newfoundland?'".Topp, a 22-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, marched across the country to protest vaccine mandates and COVID-19 restrictions. He finished his 130-day journey by placing his hand on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa on June 30..In a video posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Topp said his team realized "something special" happened when he arrived in the nation's capital on June 30. They said the rest of the country deserved to share in that "important event.".Topp's journey from Ottawa, Ontario to Signal Hill, Newfoundland and Labrador will be a 2,700 km journey, and will take approximately 430 hours to complete. He plans to leave for the second leg of his march on July 18..Topp said his team decides to continue the march because there is still work left to be done. He said some vaccine mandates are still in place, while the ones that were suspended could be brought back. Additionally, members of the Canadian Armed Forces that were discharged for being unvaccinated have not been allowed to return to work.."All of those members of the armed forces who were released, they should be allowed to come back, too. Especially the ones who were released just before they were allowed to get a pension for their 20 years of service," he said..While Topp said he's pleased to have met with Conservative MPs, he would like to meet with ministers in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet..In the video, Topp also addressed the news that he will face a court martial for speaking out against vaccine mandates while in uniform.."The structure we call the corporate media likes to play games. I knew the court martial was being planned since February," Topp said with a laugh. "So please, don't let it alarm you. I'm still here, I'm not in a military jail, and it's not something I'm particularly afraid of. Especially after I marched across the country.
