Canada police clear key border bridge
WINDSOR (Canada): Police on Sunday cleared a key United States border bridge occupied by trucker-led demonstrators angry over Covid-19 restrictions, towing vehicles and making “several” arrests in their bid to quell a movement that has also paralysed downtown Ottawa.
“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end,” Drew Dilkens, mayor of Windsor, Ontario, said.
“Border crossings will re-open when it is safe to do so.”
US officials, who had pressed for a quick resolution as the blockades hit auto industries in both countries, praised what they called the “decisive” action here and said they expected the bridge to open by day’s end.
White House national security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall said US and Canadian officials recognised “the imperative of taking swift, strong action and deterring future blockades”.
A heavy police cordon continued to protect the area on Sunday afternoon, with protesters still nearby and police indicating they would make further arrests.
The demonstrations have inspired copycat protests around the globe, including in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand, and with some US truckers discussing a protest for next month.
On Sunday, with thousands of protesters still paralysing the centre of federal capital Ottawa, Canada’s public safety and emergency preparedness minister indicated that patience was running thin.
“Enough is enough,” Bill Blair told the CBC.
“This has to come to an end. The situation in Ottawa is unacceptable and intolerable, and the police need to restore order and enforce the law in that city.”
In Paris on Saturday, police fired tear gas and issued more than 300 fines in an effort to break up convoys of vehicles coming from across France.
An estimated 10,000 Australian protesters marched through the capital Canberra to decry vaccine mandates, while in Wellington, New Zealand, anti-mandate activists have been camped near the parliament for days.