This occurs a day after protesters closed the traffic lanes on the Ambassador Bridge between the US city of Detroit (in Michigan) and Windsor (Ontario), the busiest land passage in the United States with its neighbor to the north.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Alberta reported through its Twitter account that participants in the protests interrupted traffic in both directions.
While the website of the Government of Canada, indicated that due to this situation the waiting time at the border crossing was about seven hours on the morning of this Wednesday.
The demonstrations began at the end of January in rejection of the mandatory Covid-19 vaccine mandate to cross the border with the United States, a measure by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that came into force on January 15.
Truckers argue that the restriction – which will prevent anyone who is not vaccinated from entering the country or force them to self-quarantine every time they cross the dividing line – will lead many to lose their jobs. However, the Canadian Truckers Alliance (CTA) states that between 85 and 90 percent of the 120,000 drivers operating on cross-border routes are immunized.
Truckers set up a makeshift camp in the center of the Canadian capital and the resulting chaos forced Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson to declare a state of emergency in the city on Sunday.
The authority described the situation here as the most serious emergency “our city has ever faced.”
Since January 29, the protests have spread to cities across Canada, while attracting a “significant element” from the United States, according to press reports.
The events led to more than 60 arrests and “several criminal investigations” for “threatening” and “illegal” conduct, Canadian police announced.
An Abacus Data poll on February 3 showed that those most identified with the protest are the voters of the far-right Popular Party, which defends anti-immigrant positions, is a refuge for those who reject vaccines and demand the right to carry firearms. .
ode/dfm
