Part of the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor to Detroit, has been blocked since Monday evening by anti-sanitary measures protesters, a blockage that could have significant economic repercussions across the country according to some experts.
Protesters initially halted traffic in both directions, but on Tuesday morning one lane of traffic was reopened toward the United States. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is redirecting motorists to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel, but the latter cannot accommodate trucks, which must instead drive to Sarnia, 100 kilometers north, to cross the bridge. Blue Water. Nearly twenty kilometers of congestion awaited the truckers who went there on Tuesday.
“This border point has significant federal implications when it’s closed,” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said in an interview with The duty. The latter is asking for a federal response to manage the situation. “Unless the federal government is happy that the border is closed, I don’t know what we can do. [localement] without their support,” said the mayor. About 7,000 trucks pass the bridge each day; a quarter of annual trade between Canada and the United States transacts on the axis.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendocino, did not specify when the border link could be released. The Michigan Department of Transportation says it doesn’t have a timeline either. The CBSA is working with Windsor police to find “means and solutions to ensure that traffic continues,” assured Minister Mendocino. In a statement, Matt Maloun, president of the Detroit International Bridge Company — the private company that owns the bridge — encouraged “appropriate authorities” to mitigate the problem.
Challenge for the automotive industry
Building cars at the many factories in Windsor, Canada’s auto capital, depends on parts coming from the United States. Every day, the equivalent of $50 million in parts is sent to the Canadian side across the bridge, says Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association of Canada (APMA). If the lockdown lasts for even another day or two, he suggests, factories in Windsor may have to close temporarily.
“If the lockdown doesn’t just take place for a few hours, but rather a few days, you’re going to have an economic impact that will threaten the jobs of many workers,” confirms Bill Anderson, director of the Cross-Border Institute at the University of Windsor. A factory simply cannot build a car if it is missing a part, the professor sums up. The additional costs and delays generated by the detour will be very significant, he predicts.
The consequences will even be felt in Quebec. Many trucks from the province cross the bridge, according to Bill Anderson. “It is obvious that any demonstration limiting the passage of the volume of trucks on this important link will disrupt the Quebec economy,” comments Albert Goodhue, president of Groupe GCL, a logistics consulting firm based in Montreal. There would be an increase in the volume transported by truck in general in North America according to the specialist in logistics.
Origin of protesters
Mayor Drew Dilkens believes the bridge attracted protesters who were primarily Ottawa for its economic value. “What they were doing in Ottawa was disturbing to residents and the city, but their actions are unlikely to have an impact on political decisions,” the mayor said. Bringing part of the convoy to the bridge to organize a siege, on the other hand, “will absolutely hold the attention of the government leaders”, he notes.
The people on the bridge, he says, were not part of the group that initially demonstrated in late January against compulsory vaccination for truckers. “I would describe a lot of them as professional protesters, who are not rational in their thinking,” says Drew Dilkens. “These are agents provocateurs who have hidden themselves in the movement of truckers”, thinks for his part Flavio Volpe. “It’s dumb and hard to understand,” he says.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.