The Ontario Superior Court granted an injunction to forbid protests on the bridge
The Windsor Ambassador Bridge, one of the busiest border crossings between Canada and the United States, was reopened on Feb. 13 following a six-day blockade in protest against COVID-19 mandates.
As police forces removed protesters from the site, traffic began to flow for the first time in days across the bridge between Ontario’s southwestern city and Detroit.
On Feb. 11, the Ontario Superior Court granted an injunction that prohibits protestors from obstructing traffic on the bridge.
Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz, who presided over the hearing, said that the protestors’ freedom of expression must be evaluated in light of everybody’s right to use the bridge. In his view, the Ambassador Bridge protests had “directly result[ed] in the denial of freedom to others in society,” including their freedom to work, cross the border, and freely move goods and services. More information about the judge’s decision will be available soon.
Approximately two dozen arrests were made by the Windsor police department on Feb. 13 in relation to the blockade, though there were no reports of violence.
The Ambassador Bridge sees millions of dollars in imports and exports on a daily basis. Politicians and manufacturers have expressed their concerns regarding the protest, as the blockades have choked off the supply chain, impacted production, and stalled trade between Canada and it’s biggest economic partner.
The blockade has especially been impacting Detroit’s automobile production plants. Cuts in production have been reported at Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., and Toyota Motor Corp., resulting in approximately $850 million worth of losses due to the blockade.
Similarly, Ford Canada announced last week that its Windsor facility has reduced its production capacity amidst the Ambassador Bridge blockade.
The “interruption on the Detroit/Windsor bridge hurts customers, auto workers, suppliers, communities and companies on both sides of the border, that are already two years into parts shortages resulting from the global semiconductor issue, COVID and more,” said a Ford Canada spokesperson to Global News.
Though the bridge has finally opened back up, protests at other border crossing points and other Canadian cities continue to persist. Protests in Ottawa have now entered the third week of obstruction, causing the federal government to consider the use of special emergency powers.
This is a developing story with more information to come. Stay tuned for updates.
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