Canada is going to court over blockade
CANADA authorities will head to court in a bid to break the ongoing bridge blockade by drivers protesting against the country’s Covid-19 restrictions.
The mayor of Windsor in Ontario plans to seek an injunction at a hearing against members of the socalled ‘Freedom Convoy,’ who have used scores of pick-up trucks to clog up the Ambassador Bridge connecting the city to Detroit.
The stand-off, which has sent a parts shortage rippling through the car industry on both sides of the USCanada border, has now entered its fifth day.
Federal, provincial and local authorities have hesitated to forcibly remove the protesters there and elsewhere around the country, apparently reflecting a lack of local police manpower, Canada’s reverence for free speech, and a fear of a violent backlash.
Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens warned earlier this week that some of the drivers are ‘willing to die.’
But the pressure to reopen the bridge appeared to be mounting, with Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda closing car factories or cancelling shifts because of parts shortages, and the Biden administration urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to use its federal powers to end the blockade.
Michigan’s governor likewise called on Canadian authorities to quickly resolve the stand off.
The Ambassador Bridge is the
busiest US-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25 per cent of all trade between the two countries.
The stand off comes at a time when the car industry is already struggling to maintain production in the face of pandemic-induced shortages of computer chips and other supply-chain disruptions.
“American legislators are freaking out, and rightfully so,” said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto.
“Pressure is now being exerted by the White House on Trudeau to act more decisively.”
Hundreds of demonstrators in vehicles have also paralysed the streets of Ottawa city centre for almost two weeks now, and have now closed three border crossings in all – at Windsor, at Coutts, Alberta, opposite Montana, and at Emerson, Manitoba, across from North Dakota.
The Freedom Convoy has been promoted and cheered on by many Fox News personalities and attracted support from the likes of former President Donald Trump.
“This is an unprecedented demonstration.
“It has significant levels of fundraising, co-ordination and communication,” embattled Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly said.
Amid signs that authorities might be prepared to get tough, police in Windsor and Ottawa awaited reinforcements from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.