Canada's COVID-19 protests threaten border trade with US

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canadian lawmakers expressed increasing worry Tuesday about the economic effects of disruptive demonstrations after the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada became partially blocked by truckers protesting vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 restrictions.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford called the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, a “vital trade artery.” It carries 25 percent of trade between the two countries.

“Such blockades will have serious implications on our economy and our supply chain," Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in Ottawa, the capital. “I've already heard from automakers and food grocers. This is really a serious cause for concern.”

Speaking in an emergency debate late Monday in Parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the protesters are “trying to blockade our economy, our democracy,” and it has to stop.

The daily demonstrations staged by the so-called Freedom Truck Convoy began in Ottawa, where demonstrators have used hundreds of parked trucks to paralyze parts of the capital for more than 10 days. The protests have infuriated people who live around downtown, including neighborhoods near Parliament Hill, the seat of the federal government.

Dave Weatherall, a federal civil servant, lives near the truckers’ prime staging area in a city-owned parking lot outside of the downtown core. “They’re using the lot to terrorize people in Centretown,” he said, asking why the city has allowed the convoy to remain parked on its property for free and without intervention.

“It’s the first time since having kids that I’ve seriously wondered about the world we brought them into. I always figured they could handle most things the world will throw at them, but this feels different," he said.

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