Trucker blockade shutting down auto plants

Ford, Toyota, and General Motors factories on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border shortened shifts, limited production, or even closed as trucks transporting auto parts sit in a blockade at the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit. Border crossing traffic has ground nearly to a halt for four days as protests against Canada’s vaccine mandates continue across the country. Demonstrators have parked in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, for nearly two weeks to protest Canada’s strict COVID-19 requirements, including vaccine mandates for truckers. About 60 vehicles descended on Ottawa’s main airport to disrupt service on Thursday. Meanwhile, an Ontario court ordered a freeze on $8.4 million in funds raised for the Freedom Convoy protesters on the crowdfunding website GiveSendGo.

What’s happening at the border? The Ambassador Bridge carries roughly 25 percent of all U.S.-Canada trade, and up to 10,000 trucks cross it daily. Police counted about 75 cars and trucks and 100 protesters parked bumper-to-bumper on the bridge on Wednesday. Protesters have blockaded three border crossings between the United States and Canada. Windsor’s mayor said law enforcement will negotiate with the parked motorists but has not removed them for fear of aggravating tensions.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Reichard’s report in The World and Everything in It podcast on the legal ramifications of Canada’s COVID-19 mandates and protests.