Windsor police reported that 12 people were arrested and seven vehicles were towed.
Only two trucks and less than twenty protesters were blocking access to the bridge before the police began their actions. Soon after, police barriers were in place and it was unclear when the bridge would be open again.
On Saturday, the police convinced protesters to withdraw their trucks and other vehicles that were blocking the bridge, through which 25% of the trade between the two countries passes.
In the capital, Ottawa, there were about 4,000 protesters, according to police. In recent days, discontent has been growing in the city due to weeks of protests, music blaring and people camping out in the center of the capital.
On Sunday in Ottawa a counter-protest arose from neighbors who tried to prevent the trucks from entering the city center.
The protests on the bridge, in Ottawa and in other parts of the country have had repercussions abroad. Similar caravans have sprung up in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands. US authorities have warned that similar protests could occur in the country.
A former minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has taken the unusual step of denouncing her former colleagues in government for failing to take action to end the unrest.
“Unbelievably, this is happening not just in Ottawa which is our nation’s capital,” tweeted former minister Catherine McKenna. “And yet no one — not the city, not the province, not the federal government — seems capable of ending this illegal occupation. It’s amazing… They have to get organized. Now”.
Trudeau has so far rejected calls to deploy the armed forces, though he has stressed that “all options are on the table” and has called the protesters “extremists” on the fringes of Canadian society.
Ottawa police said in a statement late Saturday that a joint command center has been established in conjunction with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Officials said that would bolster enforcement capabilities that had been limited by “security concerns — stemming from the aggressive and illegal behavior of many protesters — by limiting police action capabilities.”
Police earlier issued a statement calling the protest an illegal occupation and saying they were waiting for reinforcements before implementing a plan to end the demonstrations.
“We will continue to impose order in the protest area and there will be zero tolerance for any illegal activity. Citizens should stay away from the area,” Windsor police said.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a state of emergency last week for the capital, where hundreds of trucks stood in front of Parliament buildings and protesters set up portable toilets outside the prime minister’s office, where the motorcade usually parks. of Trudeau.
It was not clear when the bridge would be reopened, but Windsor Mayor Drew Kiklens expressed hope that it would be within hours.
“Today, the national economic crisis that we have endured on the Ambassador Bridge is over,” Kiklens said afterward.
“Border crossings will resume when it is safe to do so, and I will leave it to the police and border agencies to make that decision,” he added.
The blockades have caused great anger among the population.
“The entire city is furious at being abandoned by the people who are supposed to protect us. They have totally abandoned the application of the laws. Ottawa Police have failed,” tweeted Artur Wilczynski, a national security official at the Canadian Department of Security and Communications.
On the western edge of North America, another blockade arose; between Surrey, British Columbia and Blaine, Washington.
This came a day after Canadian authorities reported that a few vehicles had broken through police barriers and that a crowd had entered the area on foot.
Canadian police issued a statement saying that while no one was injured in the incident, the actions were dangerous and are being investigated.
–
