Key U.S.-Canada bridge being cleared of protesters

Reuters Videos
2 年前

UNNAMED PROTESTER: "Who are you protecting? Who are you protecting? Who? Who are you protecting? Someone tell me right now who you're protecting."

A key bridge linking Canada and the United States began to be cleared of protesters Saturday by police, more than 12 hours after a court order went into effect to end the blockade that has disrupted international trade.

The Ambassador Bridge, North America's busiest land border crossing, had no traffic flowing for the fifth straight day on Saturday morning.

About 15 trucks, cars and pick-up vans blocked traffic in both directions.

Police in black uniforms with yellow vests, moved behind the protesters' vehicles and, accompanied by police cruisers, slowly advanced on protesters, pushing them back from the bridge entrance.

The number of demonstrators had thinned to roughly two dozen early on Saturday from about 200 on Friday night.

PROTESTER, DANIEL DARLYMPLE: "This isn't insurrection or terrorism. This is grassroots people with their children and their grandparents and parents coming together and saying, hey, my rights and my freedoms are being infringed and denied here.”

The Canadian protests have inspired similar convoys and plans in the United States, France, New Zealand and Australia.

In Paris, French police fired tear gas at demonstrators on Champs-Elysees Avenue on Saturday shortly after a convoy carrying protesters against COVID-19 restrictions made it into the capital.

Meanwhile, the protests in Canada have morphed into a wider protest against COVID restrictions and the Canadian government.

Two smaller crossings in Alberta and Manitoba have also been affected.

The estimated loss from the blockades just to the automobile industry could be as high as $700 million, based on IHS Markit's data.

TRUDEAU ON 02/12: "These blockades cannot continue."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under pressure from opposition party leaders to intervene, while U.S. President Joe Biden's administration urged his government to use federal powers.

Trudeau promised Biden quick action to end the crisis.