DETROIT – The Ambassador Bridge is closed due to protests.
The city of Windsor is in the process of going to a judge and asking for an injunction to have the provincial police move in and end the blockade; We heard from Windsor’s Mayor Drew Dilkens earlier Thursday (Feb. 10) afternoon.
“The economic harm this occupation is having on international trade is not sustainable and must come to an end,” said Mayor Dilkens.
Calling it an illegal occupation, Dilkens wants the protestors who are blocking both sides of the Ambassador Bridge to understand there are now provincial police and what they call public order units moving into Windsor at his request, ready to enforce that injunction If they get it. Perhaps this afternoon or even tomorrow.
“We need to appreciate that these demonstrators are fellow Canadians and that they have a fundamental right to their views and their opinions,” Mayor Dilkens said. “They don’t have the right to affect you or your family’s ability to earn a living, and they’ve gone too far.”
And impact livelihoods they have with auto plant closings and truckers stranded or not working. But in considerable measure, that’s the point.
Protestors want an end to the vaccine mandates and border strictures put on them, and they have Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in their crosshairs. But when these kinds of actions strain the international economy, the pressure builds.
This afternoon, Chairman of the Detroit International Bridge Company, Matthew Maroun, put out a lengthy statement, but in part, it says, “This cannot continue any longer. On behalf of all those whose jobs and livelihoods depend on the goods that cross this bridge, I ask the Canadian government to take action and end the blockade.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer also called on the Canadian government to end this situation. We’re still awaiting word on whether that hearing has happened.
And Thursday afternoon, Michigan’s Congressional Delegation started calling on the Canadian government to make a move here to open this border.
We’ll have more on what’s happening in the auto industry coming up on Local 4 News at 6 p.m.
Read: Truck blockade at Ambassador Bridge, US-Canada border shuts auto plants
