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WINDSOR – Canadian police yesterday 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 in a statement. “Border crossings will reopen 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 in Windsor and said they expected the bridge to open by day’s end.
Liz Sherwood-Randall, the White House national security adviser, said US and Canadian officials recognised “the imperative of taking swift, strong action and deterring future blockades”.
The demonstrations have inspired copycat protests around the globe, including in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia, and with some US truckers discussing a protest for March.
Yesterday, 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 short.
“Enough is enough,” Bill Blair told a CBC interviewer. “This has to come to an end. The situation in Ottawa is unacceptable and intolerable, and police need to restore order and enforce the law in that city.”
He said the border closures were having “an enormous impact” on Canadian workers and companies.
Blair said the federal government, working with the provinces, was prepared to do “whatever is required in order to bring the situation back under control”.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised that “this conflict must end”, but he has faced mounting criticism for failing to act more decisively. – AFP, February 14, 2022