The situation is tense in Canada, where anti-sanitary measures demonstrators have been blocking the streets of the capital Ottawa for almost two weeks. “Blockages, illegal demonstrations are unacceptable” and have “a negative impact for our businesses, our manufacturers”lamented, Wednesday, February 9, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before the deputies. “We must do everything to put an end to it”hammered the head of government, however offering no way out of the political crisis while in the streets of Ottawa, the tension has risen a notch.
For the first time, the police sent a message by press release to the demonstrators, informing them that they could now be arrested. On Tuesday, the police had reported twenty-three arrests since the start of the movement. “We advise you that anyone who blocks the streets or helps others to block them may be prosecuted” and “is likely to be arrested”warned the police, adding that vehicles could also be seized.
Blocked bridge at US border
Besides the streets of the federal capital Ottawa, the truck drivers and their supporters want to hit the economy by paralyzing certain essential trade routes. The blocking, since Monday, of the Ambassador Bridge on the border with the United States worries authorities and economic circles, because if Ottawa is a strong symbol, it is not an economic capital.
This suspension bridge, which connects Ontario to Detroit, in the United States, is crucial for the automotive industry but also for American hospitals which employ many Canadian nurses. “The blockage endangers supply chains, the automotive industry, because this bridge is a key channel”White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
Nearly 2.5 million trucks cross the Ambassador Bridge each year. More than 25% of the goods exported between the United States and Canada transit there. According to the Government of Canada, nearly 5,000 workers at factories in Windsor, a Canadian city nestled near Detroit, have been sent home due to “criminal acts” Some protestors.
“When this type of blockade is a brake on economic growth, the production of goods… the federal government must intervene”believes for his part Gilles Levasseur, professor of economics at the University of Ottawa. “At the moment, we do not see the political will to go in this direction to really deal with the blockade”he adds.
“Lockdowns at Canadian borders threaten fragile supply chains that are already under strain due to pandemic-related shortages and delays”condemned to AFP Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association, demanding an end to the protests.
“Abandonment of all restrictions”
In the streets of Ottawa, some 400 heavy goods vehicles were still installed on Parliament Hill and under the offices of Justin Trudeau, with no intention of leaving. Demonstrators have taken out barbecues in the middle of the street, others are playing football. Cans of gasoline, which are used to refuel the trucks continuously, are placed here and there. And a federal police helicopter flies over the scene, noted an AFP journalist.
Originally baptized “freedom convoy”, this Canadian movement originally aimed to protest against the decision to oblige truckers to be vaccinated to cross the border with the United States. But it quickly turned into a movement against health measures as a whole and against the government. Since then, it has spread abroad: Canadian protesters have become the new heroes of conservatives and opponents of restrictions, who are calling for increased mobilization, from New York to New Zealand, via the France.