A policeman takes photos of his colleagues in front of parliament as truckers protest against vaccination mandates in downtown Ottawa, Canada.ANDRE PICHETTE (EFE)
The Canadian police have been forced to change their strategy to unlock the Ambassador International Bridge that connects Windsor, in the Canadian state of Ontario, with Detroit (Michigan), in the United States, which this Sunday has continued to be closed to traffic.
Despite the fact that the day before the agents had managed to evict without using force the trucks that had been blocking that border crossing since Monday - the last one left early this Sunday - a group of protesters continued to prevent the transit of vehicles over the bridge , as a protest against the compulsory vaccination order for commercial drivers on cross-border journeys imposed by the Government of Justin Trudeau on January 15.
However, if on Saturday there were hundreds of protesters who shouted "freedom" with festive music in the background, at dawn this Sunday their number barely exceeded twenty and silence and cold reigned in front of the border.
“Move or we are going to arrest you,” the agents repeatedly warned through megaphones.
At around 9 a.m., local police officers, supported by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), fanned out across Hurton Church Avenue and moved south, with the Ambassador Bridge behind them, so that the demonstrators could not approach the former ground zero of the protests.
"I don't know how they sleep peacefully at night!" Andrew, a 50-year-old builder, shouted at the agents,
Security forces later reported the arrest of at least 12 people, although Windsor Police Sgt. Steve Betteridge, in charge of police deployment, said the protesters "responded without violence and officers did not have to use force." .
During the afternoon, the detainees increased, as the police continued to push the cordon several blocks away from the bridge.
Canadian police behave very differently from their counterparts across the border.
In the provinces there is a police unit dedicated mainly to preventing violence in protests.
In Ontario they are the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police): officers dressed as civilians, although they wear bulletproof vests under their jackets with the inscription “police”.
They walked the weekend among the protesters telling jokes, patting backs and asking them to comply with the law.
“Please” and “thank you” were his filler words.
This crisis has exposed this exceptional Canadian police force, whose measured action has also been criticized for not dissolving the self-styled caravan of
truckers'
freedom more quickly.
For Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, this strategy of dialogue and waiting has also been a problem.
The White House, disconcerted by the lack of action, pressured him to end the blockade on the Ambassador Bridge, through which 25% of bilateral trade between Canada and the US passes.
The protest has also caused millions in losses, especially in the automobile industry, which is already facing a crisis in the production chain due to the shortage of computer
chips
.
Drew Dilkens, mayor of Windsor (Ontario), has ended this Sunday the "economic crisis" caused by the blockade and announced that the reopening of the bridge will occur "when it is safe to do so".
“It is a determination that will be made by the police and border agencies,” he added in a statement.
On a typical day, between 8,000 and 10,000 trucks transport goods worth 300 million dollars (about 264 million euros) across the Ambassador Bridge.
The progress to unblock that border has not gone hand in hand with an improvement in the situation in the capital, Ottawa, where protests against sanitary measures are going to last three weeks.
The residents of the center complain that the protesters are still camped and practically celebrate an outdoor party every day.
Last Saturday's brought together about 4,000 people, according to the police.
“The entire city is furious that the people who are supposed to protect it have abandoned it.
They have totally abandoned the application of the laws.
Ottawa Police have lost credibility,” Artur Wilczynski, a national security official, tweeted on Saturday.
While similar protests are multiplying in other cities across the country, Trudeau has so far rejected calls to deploy the Army while emphasizing that "all options are on the table."
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