Blocking the Ambassador Bridge | Tensions in Windsor, status quo in Ottawa

(Windsor, Ottawa and Montreal) Saturday under tension in Windsor, where demonstrators remained near the Ambassador Bridge. Although moved by the police, the crowd had still not been evacuated from the premises in the evening, despite the pressures on the economy. In Ottawa, the state of emergency declared Friday by Ontario did not slow down the demonstrators, who came in large numbers to swell the ranks of truckers, determined to stay.

Florence Morin Martel
The Press

Alice Girard-Bosse
The Press

Mayssa Ferah
The Press

“We want freedom,” Dave Mota sang to the crowd, using two horns attached to a hockey stick and hooked up to a generator. “I was in Ottawa the last two weekends, but I came to protest in Windsor because it’s my hometown,” he told The Presscarrying a can of gasoline.

The police watched with a stern eye the vehicles near the border bridge, a strategic link linking Windsor to the city of Detroit, in the United States. The situation has changed little: the demonstrators have been moved, but access to the bridge remains closed.

Saturday evening, a row of protesters still defied the authorities. Despite the police operation started in the morning. Ignoring the injunction of the Superior Court of Ontario ordering their departure.

Police said late Saturday evening that they had arrested a 27-year-old man at the Ambassador Bridge border checkpoint. Police services allege he committed a criminal offense in connection with the protest, but they did not specify what charges could be brought against him.

Police officers, the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and other municipal forces also came to lend a hand to their colleagues.

Earlier, dozens of police cars arrived at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge to clear out the truckers who were there.

During the day, one of the main supply tents was dismantled. A leading truck was the first to clear the way, sounding its horn. Around him, protesters raised their fists.

Reinforcements arrived forcing them back, thus liberating the main intersection. The police were supported by two RCMP armored vehicles and many police cars. The approximately 200 demonstrators reacted to the show of force by singing theO Canada before stepping back.

“We know you don’t want to do this,” a man shouted, pacing back and forth past the line of police.

Anita Smith, from Waterloo, held a sign that read “Come down and join us”, looking at the law enforcement officers. “We want the freedom to choose, we don’t want any obligation,” she says. More and more people are feeling this and truckers are the first to say no. »

New federal warnings

After pleading Friday that protesters “have spoken out” and “now is the time to go home,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened the Incident Response Task Force to provide an update on the situation and put an end to the roadblocks.

“The group emphasized the very concrete harm that the Canadian economy suffers every hour these illegal blockades remain in place. Members reiterated their unwavering commitment to defending jobs, trade and the economy.

Ottawa is evaluating “all possibilities” to end the blockades and warns that the consequences of illegal acts will be increasingly severe.

The blocking of the Ambassador Bridge, at the heart of cross-border trade, prompted Washington to intervene with the Trudeau government.

United States President Joe Biden and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have urged Canadian authorities to reopen the bridge and stem the economic haemorrhage that now threatens the livelihoods of large numbers of people in two sides of the border.

“We are not going to move”

During the day, the ardor of the opponents of the sanitary measures did not weaken, in spite of the hedge of police officers who made them retreat.

“We are unarmed and we are peaceful,” said Windsor resident Fernando Goertzen. But we are not going to move. »

Shane, who didn’t want to give his last name, was with his two sons who came by scooter. “They need to see what’s going on,” he says.

Some of them waved crosses or waved Canadian flags. Others waved the historic American flag bearing the motto Don’t Tread on Me [« Ne me marche pas dessus »]very visible during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“The goal is to deescalate the situation peacefully and through mediation,” Jason Bellaire of Windsor Police told reporters, unable to confirm whether the bridge would be evacuated for good at the end of the day on Saturday.

Thousands of protesters in Ottawa

While opponents of sanitary measures blocked the bridge in Windsor, thousands of other protesters still occupied Wellington Street in Ottawa.

Anne and André began their third week on Saturday in their truck, parked in Wellington Street, opposite the parliament. “It’s going very well, it can’t be better. We’ve been here since the first Friday, ”says the woman who comes from the Hautes-Laurentides. Demonstrators come to bring them money, cards and gifts directly to their window. Others ask them for autographs.

A few meters further, George Psanu holds high a mast on which are hung the flags of Quebec, Canada and Romania, his country of origin. The truck driver lost his job in January because he did not want to be vaccinated.

The Lavallois goes to the capital every weekend to protest against the sanitary measures. He comes to join his friend, who has been living in his truck since the start of the movement. “I bring him what he needs, like food,” he says.

On site, demonstrators distribute free food, hot drinks and hand warmers. The demonstrators dance, sing and chant in chorus “Freedom”.

Sylvie Allard and her colleague Alain Bergeron joined the rally for the first time on Saturday. “We were the last unvaccinated at our work. Unfortunately, we were put up against the wall and we went to get vaccinated out of obligation so as not to lose our job, ”said the woman who works in a chemical plant in Montérégie. She denounces today the mandatory health measures.

For its part, the Ottawa Police Service says it is deploying all available resources to put an end to the illegal demonstration in the city center.

“During the night, protesters exhibited aggressive behavior towards law enforcement, including refusing to follow directions, overwhelming officers and obstructing law enforcement efforts. law,” they said in a statement released Saturday morning.

The Ottawa Police Service said it “has a plan” to put an end to this illegal occupation. He indicated that they were awaiting the necessary reinforcements to do so.

Since the arrival of protesters in Ottawa at the end of January, the police have issued more than 2,600 tickets. There were 26 arrests in connection with criminal charges and two arrests for public intoxication.

Other demonstrations took place notably in Montreal, Halifax, Fredericton and Regina.