Canadian police evict truckers from commercial bridge with the US

Officers form a police cordon in front of protesters supporting truckers who blocked traffic on the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario. Nathan Denette (AP)

Sleiman Iskandar, a 28-year-old contractor, had his truck parked this Saturday, blocking the way on the international bridge that connects Windsor, on the Canadian side, with Detroit, in the United States.

Before them, dozens of cars and a couple of trucks remained stationed that have been obstructing traffic for six days as a sign of protest against the mandatory vaccination order for commercial drivers on cross-border journeys.

A local police officer has come up to Iskandar's window and told him: "Game over, you have to move."

The young man has obeyed.

He did not want to be "taken prisoner".

When he has begun to move with studied parsimony his vehicle, which has served him as a refuge in recent and icy nights, the agent has returned.

"Hey, are you driving so slow because this shit can't take any more speed?"

he has asked Iskandar.

And they both laughed.

This is how a conflict is resolved the Canadian way.

Hundreds of Canadian police officers have peacefully evicted those who have been blocking the Ambassador Bridge for days, one of the busiest trade union routes between the two countries.

The rebellion of the truckers due to the sanitary measures imposed on January 15 in Canada has strained the relationship between the Government of Justin Trudeau and that of Joe Biden, who has seen with concern the millionaire consequences of the blockade.

More than 25% of bilateral trade passes through here.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 trucks transport goods worth 300 million dollars (about 264 million euros) every day.

The deputy chief of police in Windsor, Jason Bellaire, has assured this Saturday that, although they have been able to decongest the passage, it is not yet clear when the commercial axis will reopen.

One of the industries most affected by

formed in this quiet town by no more than 10 trucks, dozens of vans and hundreds of protesters, was the automobile industry, which had to reduce its production and send the employees of both sides of the border home.

Anti-vaccine activists from this corner of Ontario have starred in a resounding

of the

which has blocked Ottawa, the capital of Canada, for 15 days, and has already been replicated in places like France, the Netherlands or New Zealand.

The United States Department of Homeland Security fears that a similar protest will spoil the great Super Bowl party, which takes place this Sunday in Los Angeles.

With the thermometer stuck at 6 degrees below zero and whipped by merciless snow, dozens of protesters gave up at noon before the police deployment.

They have sung the Canadian anthem a couple of times, moved to the point of tears.

“I used to drive a truck until restrictions forced restaurants to close and my employer no longer needed me,” said Daniel Dalryple, 54, standing next to a quiet crowd asking police to get out of his way.

“They are better than this.

We love you, but… behave like Canadians,” they told the protesters.

Most of them were not truckers, but they supported the cause against the sanitary restrictions.

After an Ontario court ordered the border bridge unblocked on Friday, policemen approached the so-called

handing out leaflets warning that if they didn't move they would face legal consequences.

That night, from Friday to Saturday, there was music and dancing.

In the morning, the fleet of cars on the bridge had been reduced.

Those who persisted did so motivated by a declared desire to “regain their freedom”.

Between honks and shouts, they have yielded without episodes of violence or arrests being recorded.

Among Canadian flags hung on trucks and waved by protesters, one of Trump 2024 appeared. “He is wonderful, he is what we need here,” said a 22-year-old builder, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He has also taken the opportunity to leave a warning: “Just because we are leaving does not mean that this is over.

We're not done yet."

Nasir, 28, shares that vision: “We are going to continue.

This is only going to end when they lift the mandatory vaccine mandate.

Many people came to this country to be free and that is not happening right now.

They have to get vaccinated to get on with their lives and make sure they can feed their family,” he adds.

A sticker on the window of his truck read: "

Trudeau."

Local police reported this Saturday that they had arrested 26 people and issued more than 2,600 fines related to the protest.

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly acknowledged that his officers are tired and need backup.

“We will enforce [the law] to the extent that our resources allow us to,” he said Friday.

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