Blocking the Ambassador Bridge | Impasse persists despite police operation

(Windsor) An impasse persists in Windsor, Ont., as access to the Ambassador Bridge remains blocked by protesters.

Florence Morin Martel
The Press

The movement against health restrictions has continued to occupy Ottawa despite the state of emergency declared Friday by the Ontario government.

In Windsor, police said late Saturday evening they 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 did not specify what charges he may face.

Earlier in the day, the police had made clear their intention to dislodge the demonstrators from the access roads to the Ambassador Bridge, a main entry point to the United States.

During the morning, officers ordered the diehards to leave the scene and stop blocking traffic or they would be arrested for mischief and the vehicles would be towed away. Around noon, they began to advance very slowly towards the demonstrators. Police officers, the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and other municipal forces also came to lend a hand to their colleagues.

The police slowly pushed back the crowd throughout the morning. Armored vehicles stood behind the officers. “We know you don’t want to do this,” a man shouts at the officers, pacing back and forth in front of the line formed by the police force. Another demonstrator, being in the front row, holds a megaphone and chants “Freedom” to the crowd.

By mid-morning, the police completely cleared the main intersection near the bridge, pushing the protesters back and away from the Canada-US border. Trucks sounded the national anthem as officers warned drivers that their vehicles would be towed if they did not clear the way.

Fifteen minutes later, the police stopped. Since then, the situation seems to be at an impasse. Traffic has still not resumed in both directions on the bridge.

At the end of the afternoon, the crowd thickened on Huron Church Street, where the police pushed back the demonstrators during the day. In the midst of families and people of all ages, Dave Mota sounded two horns connected to a generator, pointing at the protesters to make them sing “We want freedom”.

Windsor police said they were starting to issue tickets and tow vehicles blocking the lane.

A row of protesters was still facing the police. Anita Smith, from Waterloo, held a sign that read, “Come down and join us,” looking at the law enforcement officers.

Shane, who did not want to give his last name to The Press, is present with his two boys. They wave a Canadian flag. The father says he does not fear for the safety of his children during the demonstration. “They need to see what’s going on,” he says.

Around noon, many demonstrators from the city converged on the bridge. Among them, Randa Speller decided to join to show her support for the truckers. “I love Canada and I want to see it free,” she argues.

In the morning, several trucks left the scene, surrounded by demonstrators who marched alongside them, waving Canadian flags. One of the leading heavyweights was the first to clear the way, sounding his horn. Around him, protesters raised their fists in the air.

Around 9:30 a.m., several people were still occupying the intersection near the bridge. Todd Morneau, a protester, said he didn’t know if he would move. “I will do what truckers do,” he said.

One of the main supply tents was dismantled on Saturday morning. But some demonstrators refused to leave. “We’re not armed, but we’re not going to move,” said Windsor resident Fernando Goritz.

Two kilometers from the bridge, on Huron Church Street, another demonstration continues to the sound of horns, at the corner of a commercial artery. However, cars can drive on one of the lanes.

“We urge all protesters to act lawfully and peacefully,” police in Windsor, where the bridge is located, tweeted on Saturday morning, announcing that they had begun their intervention. She asks residents to avoid the area.

Dozens of officers and vehicles arrived on the scene after 8 a.m. and took up position against the fifty or so demonstrators installed in their trucks and vans to paralyze the bridge that connects Windsor, Ontario to the American city of Detroit.

The Superior Court of Ontario on Friday ordered the departure of these demonstrators installed since Monday on this major border axis between the two American neighbors, a blockage which prompted Washington to intervene with the Trudeau government.

But the injunction had not shaken the demonstrators, who said they were determined to go through with their action.

The shutdown has caused disruption to the auto industry on both sides of the border.

The protest against health measures that has shaken Canada for two weeks started with the movement of Canadian truckers against the vaccination obligation to cross the border with the United States. The demonstrators, who block the federal capital Ottawa and several important border axes with the United States, are now demanding the lifting of all health restrictions.

With Agence France-Presse and The Canadian Press