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LAST UPDATE | 13 Feb 2022
POLICE MOVED IN to clear and arrest the remaining protesters near a key US-Canadian border bridge today, trying to end one of the most significant demonstrations to have broken out across Canada and the world against Covid-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions.
Windsor police said arrests were being made and vehicles were being towed just after dawn near the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario – the busiest border crossing to the US. Television images showed officers detaining protesters.
Two pickup trucks and less than a dozen protesters blocked the road to the bridge before police moved in. Afterwards, police barricades remained and it was not immediately clear when the bridge might be reopened.
Police yesterday had persuaded demonstrators to move their pickup trucks and others cars they had used at the entrance to the crossing that sees 25% of all trade between the two countries, although it remained closed.
In the capital, Ottawa, the ranks of protesters swelled to what police said was 4,000 demonstrators.
The city has seen this on past weekends, and loud music played as people milled about in the city centre where anti-vaccine demonstrators have been encamped since late January.
The protests at the bridge, in Ottawa and elsewhere, have reverberated beyond the country, with similarly inspired convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and the US department of homeland security warned that truck convoys could be in the offing in the United States.
An ex-cabinet minister in Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government took the unusual step of calling out her former federal colleagues as well as the province and city for not putting an end to the protests.
“Amazingly, this isn’t just Ottawa. It’s the nation’s capital,” Catherine McKenna tweeted.
“But no-one – not the city, the province or the federal government can seem to get their act together to end this illegal occupation. It’s appalling. Just get your act together. Now.”
Trudeau has so far rejected calls to use the military, but had said that “all options are on the table” to end the protests that have affected the economy on both sides of the border. The prime minister has called the protesters a “fringe” of Canadian society.
Ottawa police said in a statement late yesterday that a joint command centre had been set up together with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. They said this would beef up enforcement capabilities that had been limited by “safety concerns – arising from aggressive, illegal behaviour by many demonstrators – limited police enforcement capabilities”.
Police earlier issued a statement calling the protest an unlawful occupation and saying they were waiting for reinforcements before implementing a plan to end the demonstrations.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency last week for the capital, where hundreds of trucks remained in front of the Parliament Buildings and demonstrators had set up portable toilets outside the prime minister’s office where Trudeau’s motorcade usually parks.
Even after protesters’ vehicles were removed, hundreds more arrived to bolster the crowd and settled into a faceoff with police about two blocks away, waving flags and yelling. While there were no visible physical confrontations, the crowd still controlled the road to the bridge.
On Friday, a judge ordered an end to the blockade of mostly pickup trucks and cars, and Ontario premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency allowing for fines of 100,000 Canadian dollars (€69,000) and up to one year in jail for anyone illegally blocking roads, bridges, pavements and other critical infrastructure.
With the bridge closed, car plants on both sides have been forced to shut down or reduce production.
The standoff came at a time when the industry is already struggling to maintain production in the face of pandemic-induced shortages of computer chips and other supply-chain disruptions.
While the protesters are decrying vaccine mandates for truck drivers and other Covid-19 restrictions, many of Canada’s public health measures, such as mask rules and vaccine passports for getting into restaurants and theatres, are already falling away as the Omicron surge levels off.
Pandemic restrictions have been stricter in Canada than in the US, but Canadians have largely supported them. The vast majority of Canadians are vaccinated, and the Covid-19 death rate is one-third that of the United States.
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Why do you refer to them as anti-vaccine when what they really are is anti vaccine mandate?
Could this be an example of the journal spreading the dreaded ‘misinformation’?
@bread of heaven: The large number of “vaccines = genocide” and Qanon related banners would indicate that it is anti-vax/mask.
@bread of heaven: Look at the images and read the banners, it is anti vax not anything else and far right and religious right led protest.
@bread of heaven: Its just another copy paste effort fromm the Journal
@bread of heaven: agreed there is an alt right movement within these protests but its not significant and these are not anti vaxxer protests. These are predominantly anti mandate protests as a large proportion of these protesters are vaccinated. According to this group once arrests start more people will come. Let’s see if they are bluffing. They already failed to get trucks towed.
@bread of heaven: they are anti- vaccine -look.read.listen
@bread of heaven: Started out as anti vaccine mandate but was quickly hijacked by the anti-vax, anti-science, anti-government conspiracy loon mob.
@alphasully: “Its just another copy paste effort fromm the Journal”
It’s very queer to see someone reading the Journal who has such a low opinion of it. Such conflicted behaviour reeks of neurosis. Perhaps someone like you would be more at home reading the Daily Express.
Anti vax or Anti mandate?
@Opinionated: Mandate. Most are already vaccinated.
@Colm Vambeck: Would love to know how you know that. Did you ask them all individually?
@Opinionated: neither, just clowns cosplaying as protesters.
@Michael Byrne: I have been downtown a few times over the past couple of weeks and it’s been on CTV and CBC all day practically for the past two weeks and can tell you that almost everyone interviewed or speaking over the loudspeakers starts with “I have been vaccinated” and explaining they are against mandates and restrictions. So I would go with the vast majority being vaccinated, although there are a few crazies there too
@Michael Byrne: I have been downtown a few times over the past couple of weeks and it’s been on CTV and CBC all day practically for the past two weeks and can tell you that almost everyone interviewed or speaking over the loudspeakers starts with “I have been vaccinated” and explaining they are against mandates and restrictions. So I would go with the vast majority being vaccinated, although there are a few crazies there too
@Local Ore: Not buying that rubbish. “I’m vaccinated, but…” is the classic anti-vaxxers’ way of trying to steal some underserved credibility.
@JusticeForJoe: Why do you believe that you can’t be vaccinated and against vaccine mandates at the same time? It’s not a hard concept to grasp.
@Michael Byrne: Its been well documented in proper news articles from the beginning of this protest.
Can the Journal change the title to reflect the truth and stop spreading misinformation. These protests are antimandate not anti vaccine.
@Regina Falange: started off that way, but the looney mob has taken over.
Treadeau will lose power because of this, he has backed himself into a corner saying he will not talk to any protestors and threats of military action not being off the table has just fuelled the fire. Canadians have started to see implications of this protest as grocery store supplies have reduced drastically. The conservatives have changed leader and I suspect a no confidence vote could happen due to this. It’s surprising how many Canadians that have had enough of the far left here and signs of trumpism slowly creeping in especially outside the cities.
@Pádraíg O’hEidhin: far left? You need to take your head out of your social media bubble
@Pádraíg O’hEidhin: Far left, have you any idea what the far left is. I doubt it. Anybody who is a centeralist is called far left. Which is fine as you are being called that by the far far right so its a backhanded compliment.
Like people saying we have far left politicians, we have left wing and some very left, but the bogeyman far left is in your imagination, nowhere else.
@Pádraíg O’hEidhin: Far left… hahahahahahaha
@Pádraíg O’hEidhin: Absolutely none of that is true. Trudeau has lost no support as most Canadians are against the protests. Which protesters do you think he should speak with? Those claiming to lead have either demanded he be removed from power (which by the way in Canada is considered sedition, and you should read about his father’s actions during the 1972 October Crisis and the FLQ to see how the Canadian government responds to such demands) or are asking for broad removal of covid mandates which as Canada is a federation (with health and civil law under the control of the provinces) are actually not within his jurisdiction. Those who hate him (mostly western and Ontario conservatives), have always hated him (some due to the policies of his father), and will continue to hate him. Over 90% of Canadian truckers do not support the protest and there has been no shortages at grocery stores or other. There has been stoppages at Canadian auto plants due to supply chain disruptions at major borders like that in Windsor, causing harm to auto workers (ie the sort of person some wrongfully assume support the protest) but that’s about it. The conservatives have removed their leader Erin O’Toole because like the last guy In his job, no one has been able to keep that party together since Stephen Harper, who formed it by merging the socially Conservative Reform Party, sort of like the religious right wing of the GOP in the USA, with the more moderate Progressive Conservatives (the dominant Conservative party in Canada up until the early 90s) who although are economically conservative are much more liberal with regards to social issues (making them more similar to bluedog democrats or FF/FG in Ireland). Actually, Trudeau has managed to hold power partially by taking the votes of the so-called Red Tories, left-leaning conservative voters, who could not bring themselves to voting for the current merged Conservative party. I doubt a non-confidence vote will occur as the parties that prop up Trudeau’s minority govt, such as the NDP and BQ, are far more left than the Liberals and are likely more opposed to the protests than his party are. If by Trumpism, you mean people ignorant to how their own government works and thus blame Trudeau for things actually mismanaged by their own provincial conservative leaders like Jason Kenny or Doug Ford, and have been fuelled by rage driven by US social media, I agree, its growing. But I dont think we’ll see a Canadian Trump. Canada does not have a president and neither Harper nor Trudeau were elected by the people. Populism can only go so far in that country. A leader needs to please quite a divergent group of voters in order to hold power and only a handful of people have ever done it for long. A more likely scenario is that Reform cons, unable to compromise with moderates nor find a leader like Harper able to tame them, will implode their party again, leading to further Liberal victories as it had for much of the 90s simply because it faces no united opposition.
@CMH: What is a “bluedog” democrat? Such slang is unknown in Ireland.
@Tacita O’Copa: it isn’t used in Canada or ireland (the two counties I’ve lived). It’s also not slang. It refers to right leaning democrats in the USA who are a part of a group called the blue dog coalition. I gave it as many in ireland seem to know more about US politics than Canadian to give them a comparison to where the PCs would be on the left/right spectrum.
These guys need to stop being selfish, we are over 2 years into this pandemic. We need to get on with our lives,
@Valentine Kane: Selfish? This is a peaceful protest. That’s not a Selfish act. It’s an act of democratic patriotism. It’s the cornerstone of every democracy ever on the planet. These people don’t agree with government policy and are being ignored by their government. Its a reaction to that. Nothing Selfish about it
@Valentine Kane: Completely agree we need to get on with our lives but Canada has no plan for removal of restrictions or mandates which is why most are protesting. The Federal Government has politicised vaccines and mandates and the Liberals (that’s a party here, every time I comment their name someone attacks me saying they are liberals…) used them in last years election so they don’t want to ever say they are dropping any of it. In Ireland, most restrictions are gone and there’s a plan there for removal of the rest, that’s not the case in Canada so how can people get on with there lives?
@Valentine Kane: eh that’s exactly what they’re trying to do but can’t because of restrictions etc
@Mjhint: Wow you really did drink the cool aid on this one. In a pandemic we have all had to accept things we did not like or want to do.
For the greater good.
All this protest is doing is slowing down the entire recovery from the pandemic.
Are they against all vaccine mandates or just this one.
@Mjhint: “That’s not a Selfish act. It’s an act of democratic patriotism.”
Do you really believe society can’t tell the difference between acceptable protest and this trucker temper tantrum that drags down the economy of two countries and threatens the jobs of people working in manufacturing that is just beginning to recover from the quarantine clampdowns? That is the essence of selfishness. There are many other ways to express free speech other than attacking society with blatant selfishness. Calling it “democratic patriotism” is such a bitter, cynical lie.
- “It’s a win-win. The pandemic is rolling down right now, they can remove the mandates, all the mandates, and everyone’s happy. The government does the right thing, and the protesters are all happy.”
No, that’s a win-lose, this fella doesn’t see that it’s probably his protesting that could be stopping the govt from removing the mandates. If that happens under that sort of pressure, and later a Spanish Flu-type situation hits with people aware that they ‘just’ need to gather a bunch of trucks across the country?
I fully understand the conundrum Trudeau’s in at the moment. Thankfully here in the Netherlands, where there were a bunch of trucks blocking parliament, police managed to persuade them to go. And interestingly those people had a whole range of demands, ranging from covid to climate measures, so on the one hand they can’t seem to pick their battles carefully, but on the other they could potentially cause a huge amount of damage together. But when told it’d cost them dearly to move those trucks, off they went.
Selfishness
Is there a yellow rain warning in place for the South East of Ireland does anyone know ?
@Noel Donohue: There sure is, until 11 am I think.
@Noel Donohue: we’ll it’s raining in South Dublin now, if that’s any use.
Well done this should have happened a long time ago
Just clowns they guys are with over 80 per cent people vaccinated and putting other lives in danger with this nonsense for what purpose ??????????
@Paul Hetherton: Any excuse to push the far right wing politics with support from the far right in the US.
The idea of real democracy is frightening the hell out of them.
Taking care of their fellow man is far removed from their selfish me, me, me thinking.
They don’t realise that thinking is what has caused the healthcare crisis in the US among many other human rights issues.
Look at the difference in medicine and other healthcare prices between the USA and Canada.
@Gary Kearney: What type of drugs are you on ? All throughout the pandemic you have spouted so much nonsense and constantly quoted inaccurate figures.
Here you are again commentating on something you know nothing about.
You are like a flag in a storm.
In this article you have told one person they haven’t a clue what the far left is, and in this comment you are blathering on about the far right, which you don’t have a clue about either.
It dose not make a person either far left or far right just because you don’t agree with them.
JfnC if you were in a certain country in the ‘30’s you would be lauding and supporting all the measures brought in that were for the better for all as dictated by you.
I prefer a world where 10% challenge things, even if totally wrong, than 100% total obedience
@Da Dell: well said
@Gary Kearney: Deluded… A moderate centrist who years ago would agree with limited immigration and limited abortion and the right for children to have their own sex toilets is now a right wing bigot according to leftists, that’s what the left does, forces their opinions on the world the opposite of democracy, goes after the worlds free speech when that fails they call it hate speech and when that fails call it misinformation, they are the enemy of truth and live off racism.
@David Bohane: Children should not be allocated “sex toilets.” That’s not the kind of relief children go into them for.
Sure the pandemic is almost over everyone who could possible have it already had it with some having it more than once. We will have go live with it and try to make the best out of it and hopefully the restrictions can be lifted quickly.
have your say