WINDSOR, Canada — A Canadian judge ordered protesters on the Ambassador Bridge on the U.S. border Friday to end a blockade that has shut down goods between the two for five days. countries and has forced the auto industry on both sides to cut production.
It is currently unknown when or if the police will be sent to remove the protesters, who parked their pickups and other vehicles in protest against the restrictions imposed in the country by the pandemic.
Presiding Justice Geoffrey Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court said during a virtual hearing that the order would be effective from 7 p.m. to give protesters time to leave.
Windsor police immediately warned that anyone blocking streets could be arrested and their vehicles impounded.
The news was received defiantly by the protesters.
On the Ambassador Bridge, an unidentified person took a microphone and addressed them, asking if they wanted to stay or leave when the deadline was up. With a show of applause, it was agreed that they would stay. “Very well,” said the man. “Let’s stand firm.” Protesters responded by singing the Canadian national anthem.
Later, the crowd grew in size and intensity, waving flags and repeatedly chanting “freedom.” More patrols moved around the scene and police handed out leaflets warning that the state of emergency would come into force at midnight. .
Since Monday, drivers, mostly in pickup trucks, have blocked the bridge connecting Windsor to Detroit. Hundreds more truckers have brought downtown Ottawa to a standstill in the past two weeks. In addition, protesters block two other border crossings, in Alberta and Manitoba.
The magistrate’s decision followed a four-and-a-half-hour court hearing in which the city of Windsor and lawyers for auto parts manufacturers argued that the blockade was causing undue economic harm to the city and region.
Supporters of the protesters, some of them truck drivers, argued that a removal order would infringe on their right to peacefully protest vaccination mandates that hinder their ability to earn a living.
The ruling came on a day of rapid developments in which federal, provincial and local officials worked simultaneously on different fronts to try to defuse the crisis with the so-called Freedom Convoy, whose members have been cheered by the right in the United States. including Fox News personalities, Donald Trump and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
“This illegal activity has to end and will end,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned hours earlier.
“We have heard them. It’s time to come home,” Trudeau said, warning that “everything is on the table” to end the lockdowns.