Traffic on Ambassador Bridge heavy despite virus restrictions

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing restrictions on cross-border traffic, Windsor's Ambassador Bridge processed 23 per cent of all national traffic into Canada from March 23 to Oct. 31 this year, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

CBSA'S recently released operational and enforcement highlights for the southern Ontario region also reveal the Windsor-detroit Tunnel saw approximately 30 per cent of the 2.6-million non-discretionary traveller volumes processed at that port of entry.

In addition, from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, the southern Ontario region processed 2,560,959 commercial trucks, accounting for 57.5 per cent of the national volume. Just under half of the trucks in the region were processed at the Ambassador Bridge.

During that same period, CBSA seized 282,161 kg of manufactured tobacco at the Ambassador Bridge. That number accounts for 74 per cent of the region's total tobacco seizures in 2020, an increase of 313 per cent compared to 92,956 kg during the same period in 2019.

The total value of seized tobacco is $68.1 million.

The southern Ontario region also saw 134 firearms from March 23 to Oct. 31, just under a third of the national total, while the value of narcotics seizures increased to $64 million or 98 per cent for the period from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, from $32 million in 2019.

Just over 44 per cent of all the cocaine seized nationally occurred in the southern Ontario region.

“The CBSA continues to protect the economy and our communities and our officers work diligently to prevent smuggling across our borders,” said Christine Durocher, regional director general. “The work accomplished this year demonstrates the ongoing commitment of our organization, despite COVID-19 restrictions.”