The White House has urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to use federal powers to get trucks in the ongoing blockade moving again as the fervent COVID-19 demonstrations continue to disrupt economies on both sides of the border.
The so-called “Freedom Convoy” protesters blocked the Ambassador Bridge linking Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit for a fourth consecutive day Thursday, prompting the Biden administration to call on Canadian officials to demand an immediate end to the blockade.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discussed the matter with their Canadian counterparts, a White House official told CNN. President Biden is “being regularly briefed” on the situation, the official said.
Mayorkas and Buttigieg urged the Canadian officials to “use federal powers to resolve this situation” at the border while offering the full support of the Homeland Security and Transportation departments, CNN reported.
The Biden administration is also in “close touch” with American auto companies, as well as other businesses and trade associations negatively impacted by the demonstrators rallying against a vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers.
The protest at the international bridge, as well as others in Ottawa and in Coutts, Alberta, have since grown into a mass revolt against Trudeau’s government and other coronavirus regulations.
The Ambassador Bridge carries 25% of all trade between the US and Canada. Cops and protesters were still at the span late Thursday, but an end may be not far off, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said he wants a peaceful end, but was ready to use police reinforcements to move the protesters, who he claims are trespassing, if they don’t end the blockade, the newspaper reported.
“A short time ago, Windsor City Council met and had authorized that an injunction be sought from Superior Court to bring about an end to this illegal occupation,” Dilkens said.
“You are welcome here,” the Canadian mayor said, speaking directly to the scores of truckers and other demonstrators.
Police in Ottawa on Wednesday warned the protesters may be “arrested without a warrant” if they continue their efforts. At least 23 arrests had reportedly been made there as of late Wednesday.
The Canadian Trucking Alliance, meanwhile, said the protests have not been peaceful and claimed many of the demonstrators aren’t in the industry.
The Ambassador Bridge is not shut down on the US-bound side, Windsor police said Thursday, although protesters were making access difficult for all travelers, who should expect “significant” delays.
“We have additional resources deployed from outside jurisdictions for the purpose of helping support a peaceful resolution to the current demonstration at and near the Ambassador Bridge,” Windsor police tweeted late Thursday.
Trudeau, meanwhile, said he had several meetings late Thursday on the “illegal blockades and occupations.”
“They’re harming the communities they’re taking place in — and they’re hurting jobs, businesses and our country’s economy,” he tweeted. “We’ll continue to work closely with municipal and provincial governments to end these blockades, and to make sure they have the resources they need.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer echoed Trudeau’s take, calling on Canadian authorities to end the blockades on the Ambassador Bridge immediately.
“My message is simple: reopen traffic on the bridge,” Whitmer tweeted. “In Michigan, our economy continues to grow because of our hardworking people and innovative small businesses. Now, that momentum is at risk. Commercial traffic is at a standstill at the Ambassador Bridge and heavily backed up at the Blue Water Bridge.”
With Post wires
