The Ambassador Bridge is seen closed in Detroit, Michigan
(Picture: REUTERS)Canada’s government should use its federal powers to bring an end to the blockade of truckers in protest of Covid curbs, the Biden administration said.
The Freedom Convoy started out as a movement opposing the Covid mandates for cross border drivers but it has become a wider challenge of the Covid restrictions with copycat protests spreading to Australia, New Zealand and France.
Truckers in Canada blocked the Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest international land border crossing and a vital supply route for Detroit’s carmakers, for the fourth day in a row.
The White House said Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg urged their Canadian counterparts “to use federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border”.
Their statement added: “US and Canadian border and customs authorities are working with great urgency to ensure the continued flow of goods and services across our international border, leveraging alternative land routes, as well as air and sea options.”
Police near the Ambassador Bridge have begun receiving additional manpower, Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said.
He told CNN: “If the protesters don’t leave, there will have to be a path forward. If that means physically removing them, that means physically removing them, and we’re prepared to do that.
“While it may be gratifying for someone to see the forced removal of the demonstrators, such action may inflame the situation and certainly cause more folks to come here and add to the protest, and we don’t want to risk additional conflict.”
More staff will man the command post at the National Football League’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles in response to reports of a convoy could cause disruptions at Sunday’s game, the White House official said.
