Canadian police have started cracking down hard and arresting individuals who protest the COVID-19 vaccine requirements at the Ambassador Bridge connecting Canada and the United States.
Windsor police announced on Sunday morning that they had already arrested several protestors on charges of “mischief,” in relation to the Freedom Convoy. The department announced that a “zero tolerance” policy was being enforced and that escalation on the part of the police can be expected “at the demonstration area.”
Protestors blockaded Ambassador Bridge in demonstration of solidarity with the international Freedom Convoy movement which started with Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Ambassador Bridge is the busiest border cross point for the country, and the protests are costing the nation an estimated $392.56 million each day in lost cross-border transactions.
Democrat Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer said recently that the responsibility of clearing the bridge was on the Canadian government, and said that they should “do whatever it takes to… swiftly resolve [the blockade].”
The Ambassador Bridge enters the U.S. through Michigan state, and so the blockade currently impedes flow of goods into and out of Michigan.
The Biden administration similarly urged the Canadian government to employ force against the peaceful Freedom Convoy protestors.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, said that he was working closely with the country’s Incident Response Group to ensure that police at all levels have “what they need to end the blockades.”
The unpopular vaccine mandate which was enacted under Trudeau, as well as his stubbornness on the issue, has left the leader of an already minority coalition at a mere 16% approval rating. Effectively, his days in power are over as a result of his overbearing public policy, and his failure to correct it.
Nevertheless, Trudeau is escalating the situation to the level of force against what Ottowa Chief of Police Peter Sloly described as: “an entirely sophisticated level of demonstrators [with] the capability to run strong organization [both] provincially and nationally.”
Author: Nick Barnes