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Canadian Truckers Defy Trudeau, Maintain Border Blockade
Canadian Truckers Freedom Convoy protestors have defied a court injunction and government warnings to continue their days-long blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, which has paralyzed US land border traffic and trade.
Videos circulating on social media indicate demonstrators overwhelmingly voted to continue to occupy the bridge access roads after Friday’s ruling by the Ontario Superior Court. This ruling took effect at 7 p.m. local time.
The protesters can be heard singing the Canadian national anthem afterwards, with some yelling “Freedom” while waving Canadian flags.
The court ordered injunction at the Ambassador Bridge has kicked in, and there’s more people gathered than at any time since the blockade began, hold the line 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/B4rOZCOtio
— Adalia Brand (@BrandAdalia) February 12, 2022
Police officers, who have been given broad authority to take truckers and protesters into custody and fine them for refusing to disperse, handed out pamphlets that outlined penalties, including up to US$78,000 in fines and a year in prison.
A blockade at the bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, began on Monday. It is a direct reaction to the ongoing protests against quarantine and vaccine mandates in Ottawa by the Freedom Convoy truckers.
Truckers blocking other Canada-US borders
In addition, two additional access corridors between Canada and the U.S. have been blocked in Alberta and Manitoba.
Even though police have been moving in on protesters in Windsor, pushing them back, the crowd size actually seems to be growing. More protesters are arriving and few are leaving. pic.twitter.com/zC44VwqtUA
— Thomas Daigle (@thomasdaigle) February 12, 2022
Canadian Coalition Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that, when it comes to government options for stopping the protests, “everything is on the table.” After calling the border blockades unlawful activity.
The government had “a long way to go” before it would have to call in the military, but he warned it was important to “be ready for anything.”
Windsor police had warned the truckers and protesters that non-compliance with the order to disperse would result in arrests and vehicle seizures following the court injunction, but no arrests have been reported.
Authorities have yet to specify how and when they intend to issue fines and other measures to the truckers and protesters fighting for the return of their civil liberties.
Let’s be so abundantly clear… Canadian VETERANS deconstructing peacefully a fence around a war memorial that had no threat to it so they could peacefully pray around it and then clean it up…. …. is as Canadian as it gets #FreedomConvoy2022 pic.twitter.com/XsDy3648Ox
— Untangle Freedom (@Untanglefreedom) February 12, 2022
Truckers and protesters want their civil liberties back
Meanwhile, Questions are being raised about whether Trudeau is doing enough to de-escalate the situation.
The Canadian people are lacking national leadership during this crisis, NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said on Thursday, accusing Trudeau of seeking “excuses not to act”.
Last month, protests erupted over a new vaccine mandate imposed by Trudeau’s Liberal Government that requires all Canadian truckers returning from the US to be vaccinated or to quarantine.
The vast majority of Canadian truckers are already vaccinated and calling for an end to the government’s covid-19 mandates, call for a return of their civil liberties.
The protests have snowballed into a wider movement pushing for an end to all COVID restrictions and in general opposition to Mr. Trudeau’s government.