The Government of the Canadian province of Ontario declared a state of emergency on Friday due to trucker protests opposed to the measures against covid-19 and that block the main route for the traffic of goods between Canada and the United States.
(You may be interested in: Canada: Protesters block new border crossing with the US)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the move at a news conference, noting that the authorities will impose fines of up to CAD 100,000 (about US$79,000) and penalties of up to one year in prison for those who block or impede vehicle traffic.
The announcement comes on the fifth day of the blockade of the main land crossing between the United States and Canada, the Ambassador Bridge, which connects the Canadian town of Windsor with the US town of Detroit and where merchandise worth 400 million dollars transits daily.
Shortly before Ford announced the state of emergency, truckers allowed the opening of a lane for vehicle traffic on that bridge.
The blockade is causing serious damage to the economies of Canada and the United States: General Motors (GM), Ford, Stellantis and Toyota have had to reduce or cancel production at plants on both sides of the border due to supply problems caused by the blockade. Ambassador Bridge blockade.
At least two other border crossings, in central and western Canada, are also experiencing blockages and delays due to actions by truckers and farmers opposed to measures taken to contain the pandemic.
(In other news: 11 days of trucker protests in Canada, what’s going on?)
And in Ottawa, some 400 trucks and hundreds of people have been occupying the streets surrounding the Canadian Parliament for two weeks.
In recent hours, the US authorities have demanded that the government of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau act to unblock merchandise traffic between the two countries and have offered their help to end the blockade on the Ambassador Bridge.
EFE
More news
#Canada #Ontario #declares #state #emergency #protests