Truckers cause chaos in Ottawa after second day of protests

[ghazi52]

US urges Canada to end blockade by truckers​

US officials have urged Canada's government to use its federal powers to end a blockade by truckers protesting against Covid restrictions.

President Joe Biden is being briefed regularly on the protests, which have hit Ottawa and a border crossing that generates a quarter of US-Canada trade.

Car-makers and local authorities are seeking an injunction to end the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge.

An Ontario court has stopped protesters from accessing online donations.

The truckers have raised over $8m (C$10m £5.9m) through online platform GiveSendGo, after being kicked off GoFundMe for allegedly violating its policy on harassment.

A statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose office pursued the order, said it "binds any and all parties with possession or control over these donations".

On Thursday, the US Secretaries of Homeland Security and Transportation spoke to their Canadian counterparts "urging them to use federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border and offering the full support of our Homeland Security and Transportation departments", a White House official said.

"We are principally focused on resolving the blockage at the Ambassador Bridge as well as other ports of entry," the official added.
The span - which links Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan - remains closed to most traffic, though other ports and border crossings are open nearby.
Now partially shut for four days, it is the largest international suspension bridge in the world.

Windsor police are getting support from other police jurisdictions "for the purpose of helping support a peaceful resolution", they tweeted on Thursday evening.

"[If] the protesters don't leave, there will have to be a path forward. If that means physically removing them, that means physically removing them, and we're prepared to do that," Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told CNN.

"[While] it may be gratifying for someone to see the forced removal of the demonstrators, such action may inflame the situation and certainly cause more folks to come here and add to the protest, and we don't want to risk additional conflict," he added.

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has urged authorities to intervene, too, saying: "It's hitting pay checks and production lines. That is unacceptable."

The truckers have also been blockading the border checkpoint at Coutts, Alberta, next to the US state of Montana, for two weeks.

On Thursday, the protests spread to a third crossing at the border with the province of Manitoba and the US state of North Dakota.

Toyota, the world's biggest car manufacturer, has halted production at three factories in Ontario, saying no more vehicles will be produced there this week.

Output has also been halted at a Ford engine factory, while Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, said parts shortages had affected shifts at its Ontario plant.

On the other side of the border, General Motors said it had been forced to cancel two production shifts at a plant in Michigan where it builds sport utility vehicles.

Top White House economic adviser Brian Deese told MSNBC that the Biden team is "working in real time to divert cargo - that's an imperfect solution - either by rail or by other bridges or by water".

Meanwhile, Ottawa authorities said on Thursday that 25 arrests had been made so far and 1,775 tickets issued.

Residents have been advised to avoid non-essential travel and the city centre. A convoy of trucks drove slowly around the Ottawa International Airport for two hours on Thursday in an effort to disrupt flights.

Ottawa police say their emergency call centres are being flooded with fake calls.

"They were coming in from the United States," police chief Peter Sloly said in a news conference.
"Not exclusively, but significantly from United States addresses."

The demonstrations have proved to be a thorny issue for Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has faced calls to submit to some of the protesters' demands - including reversing the federal vaccine mandate on truckers entering Canada.

The Conservative opposition's interim leader Candice Bergen has praised the truckers as "passionate, patriotic and peaceful", urging the government to end federal Covid mandates.


But on Thursday, Ms Bergen changed her tune by calling for the demonstrators to go home. She said her party would take up the truckers' cause in the House of Commons.


The US Department of Homeland Security has said a copycat protest may depart from California to Washington DC in the coming days.

They said the event has the potential to disrupt the Super Bowl, the final of the US National Football League, which is scheduled for Sunday in Los Angeles.

The agency's memo said the protests could continue into mid-March, and also disrupt President Biden's State of the Union address, scheduled for 1 March.

 

[Flight of falcon]

It’s a white privilege protest…. 100 people block the border and 500 RCMP is too scared to move them.

Imagine if the protesters were black or native Canadians ?

 

[ghazi52]

Ambassador Bridge: Police begin clearing Canada trucker blockade​

BBC

SOURCE,REUTERS


Police have started to clear a blockade of the main crossing between Canada and the United States.

After days of protests by truckers against Covid rules at the Ambassador Bridge in Ontario, officers urged them to heed an injunction against the demonstration.
The vital trade route links Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan.

Truckers' protests against Covid vaccine mandates are also ongoing at other border crossings and in Ottawa.

The self-styled "Freedom Convoy" movement was started by Canadian truckers opposed to a vaccinate-or-quarantine order for drivers crossing the border.

Friday's court order against the blockade was filed by the city of Windsor and the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association, which argued that it was losing as much as $50m ($39m; £29m) per day because of the convoy.

Following the injunction, Windsor Police put out a statement to "make demonstrators clearly aware that it is a criminal offence" to block the border crossing. The police added that a criminal conviction could lead to the seizure of vehicles and the inability to enter the US.
But hours later, crowds of people waving Canadian flags flouted the order and continued to occupy the bridge.
Police added on Saturday: "We urge all demonstrators to act lawfully [and] peacefully. Commuters are still being asked to avoid the areas affected by the demonstrations at this time."

• Is Trudeau losing his fight against truckers?

Hundreds of other protesters continue to demonstrate in the centre of Ottawa, the nation's capital. Two other border crossings with the US are also being blocked by anti vaccine mandate protesters.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with US President Joe Biden about the border blockades on Friday.

The week-long disruption to the bridge, which accounts for roughly 25% of US-Canada annual trade estimated to be worth $1.7bn (£1.2bn) a day, rocked the car manufacturing industry.

General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Honda plants have been forced to halt production and cancel work shifts due to parts shortages caused by the blockade.

Speaking on Friday, Mr Trudeau urged the truckers "to go home now", saying their frustration with Covid measures had been "heard".

"If you join the protests because you are tired of Covid, you need to understand that you are breaking laws. The consequences are becoming more and more severe," he warned.

"You don't want to end up losing your licence, end up with a criminal record, which will impact your job, your livelihood, even your ability to travel internationally, including to the US."

 

[Flight of falcon]

It’s white privilege gone crazy.
Can you imagine black lives matter or natives protesting like this ?

Police looks like they are there to protect these uneducated uncivilized hordes of barbarians….

If 1000 uneducated get to decide the fate of 27 million vaccinated Canadians than good luck to this country.

 

[Nan Yang]

Trudeau slams 'unacceptable' protests as police warn truckers​

On Monday, Mr Trudeau returned to Parliament following a week-long isolation after he caught coronavirus, saying the protesters are "trying to blockade our economy, our democracy and our fellow citizens' daily lives".
"It has to stop."

 

[-blitzkrieg-]

It’s a white privilege protest…. 100 people block the border and 500 RCMP is too scared to move them.

Imagine if the protesters were black or native Canadians ?

It certainly doesnt look like a 100 or 1000 people rally.
This is making world headlines for past 2 weeks and spun off similar protests in Europe..
Three provinces of Canada have already rolled back the mandatory vaccine and mask rules r since the protest started so this is not small development..,And of-course UK is also in process....So i dont know why youa are trying to hush this. Justin Trudeau is in a dilemma right now.. he surrenders he loses the plot.. he stays firm he divides his country further..

 

[Faqirze]

The truckers are in the right, they are simply protesting and fighting for their freedom! more power to them

 

[Flight of falcon]

It certainly doesnt look like a 100 or 1000 people rally.
This is making world headlines for past 2 weeks and spun off similar protests in Europe..
Three provinces of Canada have already rolled back the mandatory vaccine and mask rules r since the protest started so this is not small development..,And of-course UK is also in process....So i dont know why youa are trying to hush this. Justin Trudeau is in a dilemma right now.. he surrenders he loses the plot.. he stays firm he divides his country further..

I work in downtown Toronto . From my building I could see few dozen protestors so pls don’t say stuff you don’t know.

In Windsor few dozen protestors are using their white privilege to stop and block the border crossing.

In Ottawa every in bred with an IQ of ten has showed up to protest. Everything from anti Semitic to anti Muslim groups and militias from the USA have shown up.

They need to be sent back to their trash villages they came from ….. preferably in body bags…

The truckers are in the right, they are simply protesting and fighting for their freedom! more power to them

If it’s a freedom to drink and piss in their pants on the streets of Ottawa then yes they are enjoying their freedom.

 

[KAL-EL]

I work in downtown Toronto . From my building I could see few dozen protestors so pls don’t say stuff you don’t know.

In Windsor few dozen protestors are using their white privilege to stop and block the border crossing.

In Ottawa every in bred with an IQ of ten has showed up to protest. Everything from anti Semitic to anti Muslim groups and militias from the USA have shown up.

They need to be sent back to their trash villages they came from ….. preferably in body bags…




If it’s a freedom to drink and piss in their pants on the streets of Ottawa then yes they are enjoying their freedom.

American right-wing groups and media are sucking this up like mother's milk.

If this was being done by people of color, those same right right-wingers would be outraged over those 'people' stopping supply lines & traffic.

 

[Flight of falcon]

Natives blocking one railway line makes conservatives blood boil but this trash and piss storm is acceptable to them.

 

[-blitzkrieg-]

I work in downtown Toronto . From my building I could see few dozen protestors so pls don’t say stuff you don’t know.

In Windsor few dozen protestors are using their white privilege to stop and block the border crossing.

In Ottawa every in bred with an IQ of ten has showed up to protest. Everything from anti Semitic to anti Muslim groups and militias from the USA have shown up.

They need to be sent back to their trash villages they came from ….. preferably in body bags…

You were so enraged you totally ignored my pointing out that three of your provinces have already cancelled vax vassports and masks.. Also I wasnt talking about Toronto but Ottawa..Its Ottawa all over the news...

You mentioned you live in Toronto.

There is a state of emergency in your province

Ontario declares state of emergency, threatening fines and jail time to end blockade

Court grants an injunction to remove protesters from the bridge between Windsor and Detroit

www.theguardian.com

and your chief is saying he is goign to ditch vaccine passports.

Doug Ford says plan in works to remove Ontario's vaccine passport system

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says plans are in the works to remove the vaccine passport system that requires people to show proof of vaccination when they enter a number of settings.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

looks like "a few dozen" folks were able to do their job.

lol im a muslim and im against mandatory vaccination and i know muslims in west and Pakistan who think the same way....now call me white whatever or ask for a body bag but its about principles...

Watch this muslim woman do speech in the protest.

We Are With Our People (Freedom Convoy 2022)

"Every minority group. Every culture. Every person needs to be here." - Rosina Kharal #FreedomConvoy #FreedomConvoy2022 #TruckersForFreedom #TruckersConvoy2022 #YOW

rumble.com

 

[ghazi52]

Canada truckers protest: After a police raid, what next?​

By Robin Levinson-King & Jessica Murphy
BBC News, Windsor and Ottawa

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES


A police raid on the bridge blockade at Windsor, Ontario, failed to shut it down. With protesters in Ottawa also digging in, what will it take to get them to budge?

They arrived by the bus load - police in balaclavas and carrying long guns, ready to oust dozens of protesters blocking roads leading to the Ambassador Bridge.
There were pickups and SUVs festooned with Canadian flags, anti-vaccination slogans and anti-Trudeau epithets, as well as some heavy commercial trucks.
About 100 vehicles have been parked along the roughly 2km (1.25 miles) of road leading up to the bridge for almost a week.

The Freedom Convoy, as it's been called, began as a protest against a mandate requiring truckers who cross the US-Canada border to be vaccinated against Covid.
But the group is not united by any one occupation - rather, they share a distrust of vaccines, a concern for government overreach and a general dislike of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

More than 12 hours after a court issued an injunction ordering the Windsor site to be cleared, the police moved in on Saturday morning. A number of vehicles agreed to leave immediately, although not without a loud honk or a shout of disapproval.
More were ticketed and towed in the evening. But vehicles are no longer the problem, says Jason Bellaire, deputy chief of operations for the Windsor Police Service.

The problem is the people, he says.

"We need to make it exceeding clear they're not welcome to stay here, they're not welcome to disrupt our bridge traffic, they're not welcome to disrupt our community," he told the BBC.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES


While many of the vehicles are now gone, a hundred or so people remain blocking the road - a mix of evangelical Christians, anti-mask mums, vaccine sceptics and local residents who are tired of lockdowns and vaccine passports.

"They [government leaders] are not following the laws that God gave them," said Tina, who did not give the BBC her last name.

The young woman's eyes welled with tears when she described how vaccine mandates have impacted on her family.

"I want to see my family if they get sick. I've seen so many families die alone, they cannot say their goodbyes. It's not fair," she said. "My nieces - they don't know where their grandpa went because they didn't get to say goodbye."

Police have pushed them forward, inch by inch, down the empty road away from the bridge, but their gains are slow. The occupied roads have many entry points and are surrounded by residential streets and backyards, making it easy to walk in. People are coming and going freely, helping the protest grow.

While law enforcement has come prepared with armoured vehicles and tactical gear, they seem hesitant to act aggressively. So far they've made few arrests.

Carrying flags and singing "O Canada", the nation's anthem, the protesters say they won't go until all mandates are over.

Canada has a 90% vaccination rate, far higher than the US, and in many parts of the country you need to show proof of vaccination to access bars, gyms and restaurants.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES


"They're going to have to move us out. We'll be peaceful and we'll lock arms and show unity," said Dan, a protester who did not give his last name to the BBC.
That leaves both sides in a standstill, with police trying to negotiate with protesters to go home.

"We're negotiating with them, we're talking to them, we're doing everything we can to resolve this peacefully and convince them to leave," says Deputy Chief Bellaire.
About 750km (466 miles) east in Ottawa, the protest group that has taken over the nation's capital also shows no signs of slowing down.
Unlike the Windsor crowd, which has been limited to a few hundred people occupying one major road, the Ottawa protest has essentially taken over the centre of a major city, with thousands of people flooding the streets with Canadian flags.
Barbecues are set up on the street with food being handed out to hungry demonstrators, while people play street hockey to the sounds of dance music, honking horns and chants of "freedom".

"This is not an anti-vax movement; this is a freedom movement. It's for choice," said Justin Smith, who was enjoying Beavertails - a Canadian pastry - with his wife Brandy Lawrence on the sidelines of the protests on Saturday evening.

Both were wearing Canadian flags as capes, and Justin a winter hat with a Canadian flag. They say they hate what mandates have done to their family, including their five children aged six to 16.

"I want my kids to go into a store and see a smile on someone's face. That's the saddest thing," said Ms Lawrence.

This wasn't the couple's first time in the Ottawa "red zone" - they came to support the convoy its first weekend, and drove the five hours from their home in southern Ontario to be there a second time. "I will do anything and everything I can do to support these people," says Mr Smith.
Some trucks had built miniature cardboard postal boxes on their vehicles - a not-so-subtle hint they mean to stay for a while.
There is a police presence - but mostly on the margins of the crowds. Demonstrators have defied warnings that people bringing fuel into the area face arrest.

A court order silenced loud honking from the trucks earlier this week, granting respite to downtown residents aggravated by the noise.

But some residents fed up with the disruption have accused police of idling by and allowing an occupation. Some businesses - including a major shopping centre - have closed their doors or have seen a drop in traffic.

While many of the demonstrators have been peaceful, residents have told the BBC they have been shouted at for wearing masks, and had trouble getting to and from work.
"We don't terrorise people and confront people wearing masks or barge into businesses, try to harass and intimidate the staff," says Marika Morris. "This is not what we do to express our political views."


If the Ottawa protest has caused maximum community disturbance, then the Windsor protest has caused maximum economic chaos by shutting down one of the country's major trade arteries, the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor with Detroit.

More than $323m (£238m) in goods crosses that bridge every day, and for nearly a week, not a dollar has made it to the US.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

Almost half of that is just from the trade of car parts, says Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association. He does not mince words when it comes to the protest.

"In Windsor we have at its core, several dozen people who are macro-economically illiterate and absolutely disrespectful of their own community, that they would imperil the economy of the region to make a point," he said. "Never has a tantrum cost so many people so much."

Despite these economic costs and concerns raised by Washington, Justin Trudeau has said he has no plans to send in the military.

While French police fired tear gas to prevent their own Freedom Convoy from advancing, that's a tactic Windsor police don't seem to want to use. "It will take as long as it takes," Deputy Chief Bellaire said. "I'm not giving them a timeline."
One thing working in police's favour is Mother Nature.

With temperatures dropping to -17C (1.4 F) overnight, it will not be a pleasant evening for those trying to tough it out.

 

[Flight of falcon]

You were so enraged you totally ignored my pointing out that three of your provinces have already cancelled vax vassports and masks.. Also I wasnt talking about Toronto but Ottawa..Its Ottawa all over the news...

You mentioned you live in Toronto.

There is a state of emergency in your province

Ontario declares state of emergency, threatening fines and jail time to end blockade

Court grants an injunction to remove protesters from the bridge between Windsor and Detroit

www.theguardian.com

and your chief is saying he is goign to ditch vaccine passports.

Doug Ford says plan in works to remove Ontario's vaccine passport system

Ontario Premier Doug Ford says plans are in the works to remove the vaccine passport system that requires people to show proof of vaccination when they enter a number of settings.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

looks like "a few dozen" folks were able to do their job.

lol im a muslim and im against mandatory vaccination and i know muslims in west and Pakistan who think the same way....now call me white whatever or ask for a body bag but its about principles...

Watch this muslim woman do speech in the protest.

We Are With Our People (Freedom Convoy 2022)

"Every minority group. Every culture. Every person needs to be here." - Rosina Kharal #FreedomConvoy #FreedomConvoy2022 #TruckersForFreedom #TruckersConvoy2022 #YOW

rumble.com

No you sound confused ….. religion is secondary … any idiot is free to pick any religion.

Did you know Ottawa is in Ontario and so is Windsor? The emergency is mostly because of the Windsor border crossing.

Toronto demonstrations last for few hours and then people dance and go away. Most demonstrators are Russians and Ukrainians and they use slogans and counter slogans at this so called freedom rally.
There were gay rights flags and Iranians flags.

So basically any idiot, jobless, uneducated and moron with an axe to grind shows up. Heck Indian and Pakistanis were busy selling flags and snacks. It was a party rather than any serious protest.

Police was letting people take pictures with them and then everyone went home.


As for the reopening it was planned before any demonstrations . Premier had made it clear that he will follow science and not some uneducated trucker. So we will do what science tells us.

As for your Muslim rights it is a complete and utter nonsense . Read your religion and come back to discuss.

 

[-blitzkrieg-]

No you sound confused ….. religion is secondary … any idiot is free to pick any religion.

Did you know Ottawa is in Ontario and so is Windsor? The emergency is mostly because of the Windsor border crossing.

Toronto demonstrations last for few hours and then people dance and go away. Most demonstrators are Russians and Ukrainians and they use slogans and counter slogans at this so called freedom rally.
There were gay rights flags and Iranians flags.

So basically any idiot, jobless, uneducated and moron with an axe to grind shows up. Heck Indian and Pakistanis were busy selling flags and snacks. It was a party rather than any serious protest.

Police was letting people take pictures with them and then everyone went home.


As for the reopening it was planned before any demonstrations . Premier had made it clear that he will follow science and not some uneducated trucker. So we will do what science tells us.

As for your Muslim rights it is a complete and utter nonsense . Read your religion and come back to discuss.

naah i just wanted to show its not white privilege there are people of color there as well.
Trudeau has invoked emergency powers in the country something not done in past 50 years but you will still try to shove it under the rug.

Canada Protests: Canada News: Canada Initiates Emergency Act, Expanding Measures to End Protests (Published 2022)

The move is the first time the government has taken such action in half a century, and is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most aggressive response since the protests roiling the country began.

www.nytimes.com

If they are partying there then its more annoying as govt. would want them to do something stupid to gather narrative against them.This is not a fringe minority.

Elon Musk says 'fringe minority is actually the government' in tweets about trucker protest

'Protesting in a Canadian winter shows real commitment!' he said in another tweet

nationalpost.com

Now reopening is not same as backtracking on vaccine passports.Must have been millions of investment.

Doug Ford says Ontario will soon ditch vaccine passports and people are worried

Ontario is close to removing vaccine passport requirements from bars, restaurants, gyms and all other indoor spaces considered high risk for the spre…

www.blogto.com

The so-called science has coincided with incoming protests....btw ..science is ..trial and error.

 

[Patriot forever]

No you sound confused ….. religion is secondary … any idiot is free to pick any religion.

Did you know Ottawa is in Ontario and so is Windsor? The emergency is mostly because of the Windsor border crossing.

Toronto demonstrations last for few hours and then people dance and go away. Most demonstrators are Russians and Ukrainians and they use slogans and counter slogans at this so called freedom rally.
There were gay rights flags and Iranians flags.

So basically any idiot, jobless, uneducated and moron with an axe to grind shows up. Heck Indian and Pakistanis were busy selling flags and snacks. It was a party rather than any serious protest.

Police was letting people take pictures with them and then everyone went home.


As for the reopening it was planned before any demonstrations . Premier had made it clear that he will follow science and not some uneducated trucker. So we will do what science tells us.

As for your Muslim rights it is a complete and utter nonsense . Read your religion and come back to discuss.

Irrespective of if anyone supports them or not but it bares naked the hypocrisy of how these Western governments supports and actively sponsers/orchestrate these kinds of protests in other countries to actively destabilise other countries from political unrest to regime changes.