Status: 02/12/2022 03:02 a.m
A Canadian judge has ordered the end of the trucker blockade that started as a corona protest. Premier Trudeau is now threatening to evict – and fears a violent escalation. The province of Ontario previously declared a state of emergency.
A Canadian judge has ordered protesters at the Ambassador Bridge between the US and Canada to end their blockade. Judge Geoffrey Morawetz of the Ontario Supreme Court said during a virtual hearing that the order will go into effect at 7 p.m. (local time; 1 a.m. BST). This would give the demonstrators enough time to clear the bridge.
Because of the trucker protests that have been going on for more than two weeks, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does not rule out the violent dissolution of the blockades. If the demonstrators against the government’s corona measures did not go home, there would be “increasingly stronger intervention” by the police, Trudeau said, calling the blockades “illegal”.
Any measure is possible, but the deployment of the military is the last resort. “I can’t say much more about exactly when or how this will end now because we are concerned about violence,” Trudeau added.
Trudeau: “We heard you – time to go home”
After a phone call with US President Joe Biden, he also made it clear that a key, blocked border bridge between the city of Windsor and Detroit in the US would not remain closed for much longer. Trudeau appealed to the demonstrators: “We heard you, it’s time to go home.”
Thousands of people have been demonstrating in Canada against corona measures and vaccination regulations for weeks. With trucks and other vehicles, they blocked, among other things, parts of downtown Ottawa. The protests initially focused on vaccination requirements for truck drivers and then on government pandemic restrictions overall.
State of emergency in the province of Ontario
The province of Ontario declared a state of emergency on Friday. Local Prime Minister Doug Ford announced measures against the protesters, including fines of up to 70,000 euros and a maximum of one year in prison. In addition, truck drivers could have their licenses revoked. Task forces would be deployed to protect important roads, airports, ports and other infrastructure facilities.
According to Trudeau, the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit – as well as other border crossings – led to the halt of car production by six manufacturers due to missing parts. 25 percent of Canadian-American freight traffic flows across the bridge – this corresponds to a goods value of the equivalent of 275 million euros per day.