Canadian trucker protestors blocking a bridge connecting Ontario and Michigan decided to defy a court order to clear the route on Friday night, despite warning from police that those refusing to comply could face fines or prison.
By early Saturday, the crowd had thinned out but was still standing as a party atmosphere intensified. Police were in the area but did not move in on the demonstrators.
The so-called “Freedom Convoy,” involving hundreds of people and a few dozen trucks, had been blocking traffic from the Ambassador Bridge for five days in protest of COVID-19 mandates, forcing plant closures and work stoppages in Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, because materials can’t get across the border.
Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz issued an injunction following a four-and-a-half hour hearing at which attorneys for the city of Windsor and auto-parts makers argued that the protest was causing undue economic harm. The order went into effect at 7 p.m. Friday.
Windsor police immediately warned that those taking part in the blockade could be arrested or have their vehicles seized.
Protestors and supporters take a vote on whether to stay or leave ahead of an impending 7 p.m. injunction deadline at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge. Cole Burston/Getty Images
Protesters hold placards as truckers and supporters continue blocking access to the Ambassador Bridge. REUTERS
Protestors are gathered at the Ambassador Bridge between Canada and the US. Tannen Maury/EPABut the protesters remained headstrong, with one person at the bridge grabbing a mic and asking the crowd if they wanted to stay or go after the deadline.
The group decided to stay, and the man responded to their applause with: “Let’s stand tall.”
The crowd then sang the Canadian national anthem and chanted “freedom.”
In the hours after the order took effect, some trucks voluntarily left the blockade, but many more remained and hundreds of flag-waving protesters continued to mill about on foot, according to the CBC.
More patrol cars moved in around the site, and police gave out pieces of paper stating that a state of emergency would go into effect at midnight and that those blocking traffic could face hefty penalties, up to a year behind bars and the possible loss of their commercial license.
A judge has ordered the protestors off of the Ambassador Bridge after five days of protest. Cole Burston/Getty Images
The “Freedom Convoy” has been blocking the bridge for five consecutive days. REUTERS
Chris Mayville sits in a chair during a protest as truckers and supporters continue blocking access to the bridge. REUTERSThe crowd thinned out as the night wore on, and turned celebratory early Saturday morning, with an enthusiastic young group continuing to block the entrance to the Ambassador Bridge, as they cheered, blared fog horns, rang cowbells and started a makeshift drum circle using gasoline jugs as instruments.
By 1 a.m. Saturday, they were not being removed by police who had warned of a midnight crackdown, according to a livestream of the protest-turned-party by the YouTube channel War Campaign.
The blockade, in which protestors have blocked road access with pickup trucks and other vehicles, has caused supply shortages that led General Motors, Ford, Toyota Honda and Stellantis to close plants or cancel shifts.
The crowd had been singing the Canadian national anthem. REUTERS
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a media availability about the ongoing protests in Ottawa, Ontario. APThe injunction came just hours after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised “quick action” to reopen the bridge on a call with President Biden.
“We stand for freedom. We believe that it should be everyone’s personal decision what they inject into their bodies,” said protester Karen Driedger, 40, of Leamington, Ontario. “We’re saying, ‘That’s enough.’ We need to go back to normal and live our lives again.”
Police in Windsor had called for federal police reinforcements as they waited to enforce the injunction.
Extra police had also been summoned to Ottawa where protesters continued to hold large demonstrations, paralyzing traffic in the nation’s capital. Truckers have also blocked border crossings in Alberta and Manitoba.
With Post Wires
