Windsor police have regained control of the situation near the Ambassador Bridge, one of Canada’s main border links with the United States, the city’s mayor announced on Sunday.
Drew Dilkens released a statement saying the bridge will reopen to traffic as soon as it is safe to do so. The decision will be made by the police and the Border Services Agency.
The police dislodged the demonstrators who were still blocking access to the bridge on Sunday morning.
Sergeant Steve Betteridge of Windsor Police said around 10 people had been arrested. Most of them will be charged with mischief. A few vehicles were also towed. The police did not use force during the operation.
“It was one of our objectives from the start of the operation: to arrive at a peaceful solution,” he explained during a press briefing.
The police operation started early. The police took advantage of the departure of many demonstrators on Sunday morning to resume their advance. They left no one behind.
Like the day before, a heavy cordon of police again advanced several meters on Huron Church Road, near the entrance to the bridge. They were followed by two RCMP armored vehicles and a number of vehicles. This time, the operation was more successful than the day before.
Law enforcement advised people gathered at a gas station not far from the bridge that they could be given a trespassing ticket if they did not leave.
A drone quickly flew over the scene. Horns can be heard from a distance.
Protesters, who are calling for an end to restrictions aimed at combating COVID-19, have been blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge for several days, which has led to numerous disruptions.
The Ontario Superior Court had granted an injunction ordering protesters to clear the lanes, beginning at 7 p.m. Friday.
The blockade of the bridge harms cross-border trade worth hundreds of millions of dollars. United States President Joe Biden and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer have urged Canadian authorities to reopen the post and stem the economic haemorrhage that now threatens the livelihoods of large numbers of people in the two sides of the border.
In video: the occupation of Ottawa financed from abroad
Tensions in Ottawa
The situation was relatively calm near Parliament Hill, although tensions remain high between protesters and Ottawans.
Residents, frustrated by the inaction of the authorities, even lost patience and blocked a convoy which wanted to join the demonstrators near Parliament Hill.
One such resident, Sean Burgess, hopes the counter-protest, staged Saturday night, sends a clear message to federal, provincial and city officials that it’s time to end what Mayor Jim Watson describes as an occupation. illegal from the heart of the city.
“Ottawa is not the boring city that the rest of Canadians imagine, but it is not a city where residents spontaneously take to the streets to become activists,” he said. So when you see people in a neighborhood of Old Ottawa South, who would rather complain to the authorities than take direct action, stand in front of trucks daring the police to stop them, you know that something went too far. »