The reopening of the bridge allows “the free flow of commerce between the Canada and US economies once again,” the Detroit International Bridge Company said in a statement Sunday night. “This action follows a state of emergency declared in Ontario and an injunction granted by an Ontario judge which took effect Friday,” the company said.
The protest at the bridge stemmed from truckers opposing Canada’s new mandate requiring them to either be fully vaccinated when crossing the Canadian-US border or face a two-week quarantine.
Windsor police also seized five vehicles from protesters Sunday, Mizuno said, and seven vehicles were towed Saturday. Police expect to have a heightened presence in the area to maintain order, the chief said.
Canada has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, with about 4 in every 5 Canadians fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And nearly 90% of the country’s truckers are fully vaccinated and eligible to cross the border, according to the Canadian government.
The mayor of Windsor said Sunday the economic fallout from the blockade was ending.
“Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador bridge came to an end,” Mayor Drew Dilkens said in a written statement Sunday.
Protesters will leave residential areas of Ottawa, mayor says
Some progress in the Ottawa protest was announced Sunday when Mayor Jim Watson said he reached an agreement with organizers to exit residential areas of downtown and restrict their demonstrations to streets directly in front of Canada’s national parliament.
Truckers and their supporters have been gathering in Ottawa since January 29, with demonstrations concentrated around government buildings but also spilling into residential areas.
Residents reported instances of rock throwing, property damage and harassment carried out by the protesters and police said they had opened dozens of investigations.
Watson recognized the agreement was not a long-term solution but told city councilors in a statement provided to CNN “it represents a positive first step.”
In a letter provided to CNN from the mayor’s office, Tamara Lich, one of the “Freedom Convoy” organizers, wrote while some residents have supported and encouraged them, she realized others have been disturbed.
“We will be working hard over the next 24 hours to get buy in from the truckers,” Lich wrote in the letter addressed to Watson. “We hope to start repositioning our trucks on Monday,” Lich wrote.
Other border crossings blocked
In addition to the Ambassador Bridge, protesters have used semitrailers — and sometimes farm equipment and other vehicles — to block border crossings between Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, North Dakota, as well as at the Coutts access point between Alberta and Montana.
And about 50 vehicles have blocked access to the Canadian-US border at Emerson since Thursday, the Manitoba Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said Saturday.
On Saturday, “a few vehicles” broke through a police barricade there, according to RCMP.
“While no injuries were reported as a result of the incident, this had the potential for harm to pedestrians and first responders. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated and is being investigated,” RCMP Cpl. Vanessa Munn said in a statement.
