Anti-vaxxers in Canada protest, block bridge

Windsor, Canada, Feb. 13: Canadian demonstrators led by truckers angry over Covid-19 restrictions defied police and kept occupying a key bridge Saturday, while thousands more rallied in the capital as a two-week-old protest showed no signs of abating.

The demonstrations have inspired copycat protests that are now spreading around the globe, including to France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia.

In Ontario, where authorities have declared a state of emergency, the provincial supreme court had ordered truckers to end their blockade of the strategic Ambassador Bridge, which links the city of Windsor in Canada to Detroit, Michigan in the

United States.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised “an increasingly robust police intervention,” adding that borders cannot remain closed and “this conflict must end.” Canadian police, backed by armored vehicles, began clearing the bridge, taking down tents erected in traffic lanes and persuading some drivers to move their trucks.

But by Saturday evening, after hours of facing off against the demonstrators, the police had not completely cleared the span.

Ottawa police said a joint command centre had now been set up together with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Police earlier issued a statement calling the protest an unlawful occupation and saying they were waiting for police reinforcements before implementing a plan to end the demonstrations.

Windsor police tweeted that no one had been arrested but urged people to stay away from the bridge.