Canadian judge orders an end to blockade at border bridge

Police warn that anyone blocking streets subject to arrest and seizing of vehicle

By Rob Gillies, Tom Krisher and Mike Householder

The Associated Press WINDSOR, ONTARIO » A judge on Friday ordered protesters at the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S.-Canadian border to end the five-day-old blockade that has disrupted the flow of goods between the two countries and forced the auto industry on both sides to roll back production. It was not immediately clear when or if law enforcement o cers would be sent in to remove the demonstrators, who parked their pickups and other vehicles in a bumper-to-bumper protest against the country’s COVID-19 restrictions and an outpouring of fury toward Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz of the Ontario Superior Court said during a virtual hearing that the order would be e ective at 7 p.m. to give protesters time to leave. Windsor police immedi- ately warned that anyone blocking the streets could be subject to arrest and their vehicles may be seized. At the bridge, a person, who would not provide his name, grabbed a microphone and addressed the crowd. He asked the protesters if they wanted to stay when 7 p.m. rolled around or leave. By a show of applause, it was agreed they would stay. “OK,”’ the man said.

“Let’s stand tall.”

The crowd responded by singing the Canadian national anthem and chanting “freedom.”

Since Monday, drivers mostly in pickup trucks have bottled up the bridge connecting Windsor to Detroit. Hundreds more truckers have paralyzed downtown Ottawa over the past two weeks. And protesters have also blocked two other