Canada: what is the "Freedom Convoy" of truckers and what does it require?
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(CNN) --
Tensions stemming from trucker-led protests in Canada over the country's Covid-19 health mandates have been building in recent weeks, so much so that a judge temporarily banned protesters from using loudspeakers.
For nearly two weeks, Canadian truckers have been protesting a new rule that requires them to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or face a two-week quarantine at home after returning across the US-Canadian border.
Truckers have been very loud, so annoyingly loud that a lawsuit has been filed demanding an end to the deafening honks unleashed by truckers in downtown Ottawa, Canada's capital, where residents have endured the near-constant noise roaring into their homes.
Zexi Li, who lives five blocks from Parliament where protesters are protesting, filed a lawsuit demanding an end to the deafening beeping.
The sound levels of air and train horns are "dangerous and cause permanent damage to human hearing" and cause "significant mental anguish, suffering and torment," the lawsuit filed by the 21-year-old says.
A hearing on the lawsuit is set for next Wednesday.
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People wave flags on top of a truck in front of Parliament, as truckers and their supporters continue to protest COVID-19 vaccination mandates in Ottawa.
On Monday, Ontario Superior Court Judge Hugh McLean issued a 10-day injunction preventing truckers demonstrating on the streets of downtown Ottawa from using air or train horns.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson described the constant honking of large trucks as "the equivalent of psychological warfare" and wrote in letters to federal and provincial officials earlier this week that "people are living in fear and in terror."
The truckers' protests have prompted others to join their efforts and protest against mask mandates, lockdowns, restrictions on gatherings and other preventive efforts against covid-19 in the country.
Protests against health mandates for covid-19 spread to other parts of Canada
Demonstrations have erupted in other areas of Canada, including the Ambassador Bridge, which links Windsor, Ontario and Detroit and is the busiest international crossing in North America.
Stopped trucks and vehicles blocked access to the bridge for a second day Tuesday, hampering traffic on both sides of the border.
"When a border crossing of this magnitude, nearly a third of all traffic between our two countries crosses here, and when it closes, it has an immediate and material impact on the economies of our two nations," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens to CNN's Don Lemon on Tuesday night.
As of early Wednesday, Canada-bound traffic remained closed, Michigan officials tweeted.
US-bound traffic was flowing with limited access to the bridge, Windsor Police tweeted.
A demonstrator walks in front of parked trucks on February 8 as demonstrators in Ottawa, Canada continue to protest vaccination mandates put in place by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. (Credit: DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Many Ottawa residents are at their "breaking point"
The Ottawa Police Department requested additional resources from Watson in order to better deal with the riots.
"We've been 100% on this for the last 10 days straight, and we won't rest until it's done, but we need more help," Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly said Monday.
Sloly said he has been pushing all three levels of government to "do whatever they can to bring to a permanent, sustainable, legal and safe resolution of this demonstration," adding that many Ottawa residents are at their "point of breaking off".
"This is crushing for those residents and their businesses," he said.
"It has to stop, and we're doing everything we can to stop it. We need more help, we're asking for that help, and we're starting to get that help, but we need more to get it done."
A small line of semi-trucks line up along northbound I-75 in Detroit as the Ambassador Bridge entrance was blocked for travel into Canada, Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. (Credit: Ryan Garza/ Detroit Free Press via AP)
In letters the mayor wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada's Security Minister and Ontario's premier and attorney general, he called for additional officers "to quell the insurgency that the Ottawa Police Service cannot contain."
The police have opened more than 60 criminal investigations linked to the protests and 23 arrests have been made.
The charges include vandalism, fleeing from police and threats.
More than 1,300 tickets have been issued for violations ranging from excessive noise and use of fireworks to driving a motor vehicle on a sidewalk.
“It is not clear how this will end”, says the mayor of the protests
Trudeau acknowledged Monday that protesters had a right to voice their concerns, but said residents don't deserve to be harassed in their own neighborhoods.
"This pandemic has taken all Canadians down, but Canadians know that the way to get through this is to continue to listen to the science, to continue to lean on each other, to continue to be there for each other," he said after stressing that Canadians are tired of health restrictions by covid-19.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor, said that Canada is a Democratic society, where protests are acceptable.
"But blocking the busiest border crossing between our two nations is not right. So how can we open up at least one lane of traffic in each direction to allow trucks to continue flowing to bring products to market in the United States?" he said. Dilkens.
Dilkens added that he's not sure what the protesters' "end game" is.
“It has picked up steam, yes, with people who are upset about vaccination restrictions or mandates, that they have to wear a mask,” Dilkens said.
"But it has also been a rallying point and a rallying cry for many who are just angry at the government in general. So it's not clear how this will end and what would make everyone happy for them to go away and stop protesting." . We're not sure".
-- CNN's Paradise Afshar, Raja Razek, Joe Sutton, Keith Allen, Laura James, Melissa Alonso, Caroline Kucera and Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.
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