Canada border blockade eases, but truckers, protesters still block bridge
WINDSOR, ONTARIO
A tense standoff at a U.S.Canadian border bridge eased somewhat Saturday after Canadian police persuaded demonstrators to move the trucks they had used to barricade the busy international crossing. But protesters still blocked access as night approached, snarling traffic and trade between the two countries for a sixth day.
Since Monday, demonstrators angry at COVID-19 vaccine mandates and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have choked off access from the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a major thoroughfare for commerce.
Surrounded by dozens of officers, a man with “Mandate Freedom” and “Trump 2024” spray-painted on his vehicle left the bridge entrance early in the day as others began dismantling a small, tarp-covered encampment. A trucker honked his horn as he, too, drove off, to cheers and chants of “Freedom!”
But hundreds more protesters arrived to reinforce the crowd and settled into a faceoff with police about two blocks away, waving flags and yelling. While there were no visible physical confrontations, the crowd still controlled the road to the bridge, and traffic had not resumed by late afternoon.
In Ottawa, the ranks of protesters swelled to the thousands as they have on past weekends, and loud music played as people milled about downtown where anti-vaccine protesters have been encamped since late January. Hundreds also turned out for a counter-protest, with one carrying a sign that read, “Honk if vaccines work.”
The demonstrations at the bridge, in Ottawa and elsewhere have reverberated outside the country, with similarly inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that truck protests may be in the works in the United States.
Trudeau has called the protesters a “fringe” of Canadian society.
Windsor police tweeted that no one had been arrested but urged people to stay away from the bridge: “We appreciate the cooperation of the demonstrators at this time and we will continue to focus on resolving the demonstration peacefully. Avoid area!”
Protester Daniel Koss said shortly before police advanced Saturday morning that the demonstration had succeeded in bringing attention to demands to lift COVID-19 mandates and he was happy it remained peaceful.
“It’s a win-win,” Koss said. “The pandemic is rolling down right now, they can remove the mandates, all the mandates, and everyone’s happy. The government does the right thing, and the protesters are all happy.”
A judge on Friday ordered an end to the blockade of mostly pickup trucks and cars, and Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency allowing for fines of 100,000 Canadian dollars and up to one year in jail for anyone illegally blocking roads, bridges, walkways and other critical infrastructure.
“The illegal blockades are impacting trade, supply chains & manufacturing. They’re hurting Canadian families, workers & businesses. Glad to see the Windsor Police & its policing partners commenced enforcement at and near the Ambassador Bridge,” Federal Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne tweeted Saturday. “These blockades must stop.”
The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries, and auto plants on both sides have been forced to shut down or reduce production this week. The standoff came at a time when the industry is already struggling to maintain production in the face of pandemic-induced shortages of computer chips and other supply-chain disruptions.
Protests inspired by the Canadian demonstrations were seen in parts of Europe on Saturday.
At least 500 vehicles in several convoys attempted to enter Paris at key arteries but were intercepted by police. Over 200 motorists were ticketed, and elsewhere at least two people were detained amid a seizure of knives, hammers and other objects in a central square.
Police fired tear gas against a handful of people who demonstrated on the Champs Elysees Avenue in defiance of a police order. Some 7,000 officers have been mobilized for the weekend protesters, who are railing against the vaccination pass that France requires to enter restaurants and many other venues.