A Little Story Of The Origins And The People Behind An All-Things-Freedom Directory

By Kasia Gądek

In May of 2020, a man named Steve Berger created a modest Telegram Group called “Keep Canada Free”. The idea was born out of a growing need to help a very special group of people — Freedom-Loving Canadians. Impacted by unjustified lockdowns and oppressive mask regulations, many unyielding individuals were suddenly searching for work and services in a mask-free, vax-free environment. Their number was great. All that was missing was a tool to bring them together.

What followed is a beautiful testimony to the vast potential of our Human Family.

Within weeks of inception, the Canada-wide Telegram Group was bursting with activity. It was soon necessary to divy up the network into provincial sub-groups. In the meantime, other like-minded activists were starting up similar projects — some more localized like the GTA Freedom Business Network, others far across the globe like the Australia Mask/Vax Free Employment. The movement also attracted the attention of the World Wide Rally for Freedom organization. With such strong, new alliances, the directory really took off!

As new users rolled in, so did more volunteers and their contribution became invaluable as the Telegram groups now required 24/7 moderation to keep content relevant and clear of spammers. Luckily, the team was spread out over multiple time-zones. While some slept, others kept watch.

However, at some point in time it became obvious that the ever-growing network would quickly outgrow the capabilities of Telegram. Growing pains came in the form of clutter in the chat room. To improve navigation, one amazing admin introduced the Group Docs, a daily compiling of all listings to date. But as this process was tedious, the evolution into a traditional website seemed like the natural next step.

Welcome to the conception of TheFreedomPages.ca

With a budget of zero, once again it would fall on people’s good will to make the website a reality. Steve reached out to the public in search of skilled volunteers. “Call it luck or whatever you want, but I’m a firm believer in the Universe providing, not what you want, but what you need when the time is right“. This was Steve’s motto and the Universe agreed.

Enter the IT team — A pair of individuals stepped up to the challenge, volunteering their time to design and build Freedom’s new home, including a secure private server to host the data and promotional material to help spread the word.

The Freedom Pages website launched in July 2021. It’s truly a Labour of Love and it’s still a work in progress. Leaning on users feedback, the site undergoes constant tweaks and improvements, like the recent addition of the Social and Dating categories or the Events and Housing sections.

The powerful message behind this little story so far is… This is what a handful of people on a metaphorical leaky boat can accomplish. The purpose of building The Freedom Pages goes beyond helping people. It is to inspire everyone to take their own action in these challenging times. If a bunch of complete strangers can get together to create this amazing project, imagine what we could do as a country — united.

The Freedom Pages Team encourages everyone to sign up and to share this resource with like-minded friends and networks. There is something for everyone on the site. And, if you love what they do, please consider making a donation to support their efforts. A contribution of any size is much appreciated and will go directly and entirely to help cover the cost of maintaining and improving the site.

The Freedom Pages has no affiliation to any political party. thefreedompages.ca