Judge orders protesters to end blockade of Ambassador Bridge; Ontario premier declares state of emergency, threatens fines, prison time

Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz gave protesters until 7 p.m. to end the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, the busiest crossing on the U.S.-Canada border and a vital supply route between automakers on both sides. It was not immediately clear what would happen at 7 p.m.

Earlier Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province, and said he would seek to impose steep fines and prison time for people who continued to obstruct highways and bridges.

“We’re now two weeks into the siege of the city of Ottawa,” he said at a news conference. “I call it a siege because that’s what it is. It’s an illegal occupation. This is no longer a protest.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that consequences for protesters were “becoming more and more severe.”

“You don’t want to end up losing your license, end up with a criminal record, which will impact your job, your livelihood, even your ability to travel internationally, including to the U.S.,” he said at a news conference.

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Ford said he would convene his cabinet and “urgently enact orders that will make crystal clear it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure.” He warned of penalties of up to $78,000 and a year in prison.

The initial state of emergency was to last 42 hours. The cabinet planned to meet Saturday to discuss further amendments, Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said.

Trudeau said he spoke with President Biden on Friday morning about the blockades, the presence of Americans, the “U.S.-based flooding of 911 lines in Ottawa” and the influx of foreign money to help fund the protests.

“We see that almost half of the funding through certain portals that is flowing to the barricades here in Canada is coming from the United States,” he said, but did not provide more detail. He said he and Biden agreed “that for the security of the people and the economy, these blockades cannot continue,” he said.

Trudeau also said he remained reluctant to deploy troops against protesters. “Using military forces against civilian populations in Canada or in any other democracy is something to avoid having to do at all costs,” he said. “That’s why the solution right now is focused on police forces.”

Demonstrators holed up in trucks continue to paralyze parts of downtown Ottawa and block the Ambassador Bridge and crossings in Coutts, Alberta, and Emerson, Manitoba. What began as a protest of rules in both countries requiring that truckers be fully vaccinated to cross the border has snowballed into a much broader movement against pandemic restrictions generally and other complaints. Some protesters have demanded the removal of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was reelected to a third term in September, and the dissolution of Parliament.

Canada’s health minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, tweeted Friday that authorities were “actively reviewing” border measures and that more details would be shared “as early as next week.” Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said “Canada is past the peak of the Omicron wave,” according to Canada’s Global News.

As the crisis deepened this week, officials in the United States called on their Canadian counterparts to get the demonstrations under control.

The impacts of the protests have been felt on both sides of the border. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned Thursday that the Ambassador Bridge blockade was “adding to the significant supply chain strains on manufacturers and other businesses.” Automakers Ford and General Motors said they have cut production and canceled shifts at some sites. A lawyer representing Canada’s Auto Parts Manufacturers Association told the Ontario court Friday that the estimated cost to the economy was nearly $40 million a day.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged their Canadian counterparts Thursday to “use federal powers to resolve this situation” and offered the support of their departments, the White House said. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) said her message was simple: “Reopen traffic on the bridge.”

In Ottawa and on the border, police so far have largely avoided confronting protesters. But “public exasperation is growing,” warned Roland Paris, a former senior foreign policy adviser to Trudeau.

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As Canadian officials have grappled with how to disperse the protesters, they’ve also warned about “potential foreign interference,” including from groups in the United States.

“Although these protests are homegrown, they are receiving a great deal of encouragement from right-wing politicians and prominent conservative activists and media personalities in the United States,” said Paris, a professor of international affairs at the University of Ottawa.

Donald Trump said last week that “insane covid mandates” were destroying Canada.

Some U.S. truckers have said they will send two convoys this weekend to a fourth border crossing, Reuters reported, in a sow of support for the Canadian protesters. The busy Peace Bridge, which connects Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ontario, serves as the gateway from New York to Toronto.

Ottawa police said Thursday that there had been a “concerted effort to flood our 911 and non-emergency policing reporting line.” Many of those “excessive calls” came from addresses in the United States, Police Chief Peter Sloly said.

Ottawa police have made 25 arrests linked to the demonstrations on charges such as mischief and menacing behavior. “We will ensure those who are responsible will face the consequences,” Sloly said. “We know the residents of Ottawa are angry. We know you are tired.”

The Ambassador Bridge blockade began earlier this week, and two smaller border crossings — at Coutts in Alberta, which connects to Montana, and Emerson, between Manitoba and North Dakota — have since been “shut down” by protesters and vehicles, police said.

The Canadian demonstrations have drawn international support and inspired similar protests in Europe and Australia. Authorities in Paris and Brussels said they would try to stop planned convoys from entering those cities over the weekend.

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