“Freedom convoys”: Canada clears access to border bridge with United States
Canadian police, during the evacuation of the Ambassador Bridge, connecting Canada to the United States, after five days of blockage, February 13, 2022. AP - Nathan Denette
Text by: RFI Follow
4 mins
Canadian police cleared this Sunday, February 13, access to the Ambassador Bridge, a strategic crossing point between the United States and Canada, blocked since Monday, February 7 by anti-sanitary measures protesters.
An operation hailed by Washington.
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A national security adviser to President Joe Biden, Liz Sherwood-Randall, expressed “
appreciation for the determined efforts of
(Canadian) law enforcement
along the border to bring about the complete lifting of the blockades.
” .
“
Canadian authorities intend to reopen the Ambassador Bridge today after completing the necessary security checks
,” she said in a statement.
Washington had exerted some pressure on the Canadian government by asking it last week to use “
federal
powers
” to end a blockage having “
serious consequences
” on the American economy because of the importance of borrowing exchanges. this bridge.
Its closure has already caused disruption to the auto industry on both sides of the border.
More than 25% of goods exported between the United States and Canada pass through this bridge,
the busiest crossing point between the two countries
.
A large contingent of police gathered around the bridge early Sunday morning, arresting protesters and towing vehicles.
Police
cleared the road leading to the bridge
, but authorities did not say when traffic would be restored.
The operation, marked by caution and a certain slowness, had started on Saturday morning, but had not made it possible to evacuate all the protesters.
Various claims
The mayor of nearby Windsor was pleased that the "
national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge
(has)
ended today
".
The border crossing will be reopened "
when it is safe to do so
", he added, leaving police and border services the responsibility for that decision.
A large police cordon, however, continued to protect the area on Sunday afternoon, with police indicating that policing operations were continuing as protesters were still nearby.
The Canadian protest movement,
which is entering its third week
, started with a movement of truckers protesting against the obligation to be vaccinated to cross the border between Canada and the United States, but the demands have spread to a refusal of all health measures and, for many protesters, a rejection of the
government of Justin Trudeau
.
Demonstrations continued over the weekend in several Canadian cities, including Toronto and Montreal on Saturday, and other border crossings remain blocked in the provinces of Manitoba and Alberta.
If the situation in Ottawa was calmer on Sunday morning, the movement did not weaken in the Canadian capital paralyzed by the demonstrators since the end of January.
Many protesters
were still in central Ottawa on
Sunday and, reflecting residents' growing exasperation, counter-protesters tried to stop a convoy of protesters.
The army as "
last, last resort
"
Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair has been highly critical of Ottawa police, calling it "
unexplainable
" in a CBC interview that the city's police are unable to restore order.
"
The police must do their job
" and "
enforce the law in this city
", he insisted.
While emphasizing that it was up to the police to restore order, he said that "
the federal government is ready to do whatever is necessary to regain control of the situation and restore order
", a statement which seemed to mark a slight change in the tone of the authorities.
Asked about the possibility of asking the army to help restore order, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that it would be a “
last, last, last resort solution
”.
►
To read also:
"Convoy of freedom" in Canada: in Ottawa, the movement takes root in the city
This challenge in Canada has inspired other similar initiatives around the world.
In France, some 1,300 vehicles participating in anti-pass convoys from all over France stopped on Sunday near Lille (North), before a rally scheduled for Monday in
Brussels, despite the ban on the Belgian authorities
.
Thousands of opponents of the health pass or President Emmanuel Macron
had converged on Paris to demonstrate there the day before
, baptizing their movement "
freedom convoys
", as in Canada.
(with agencies)
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