Pacific Highway border crossings resume after days of blocked access by pandemic protesters

Traffic is moving once again at the Pacific Highway border crossing in Surrey, B.C., according to local RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Operations had been halted at the crossing since Saturday when protests against public health measures brought hundreds of demonstrators to the U.S. access point.

Surrey RCMP Const. Sarbjit Sangha says officers ordered demonstrators out of the area just north of the crossing late Monday. She says several people were arrested but was unable to confirm numbers.

Border services said only that operations have now resumed after a "service disruption".

Surrey RCMP reported significant traffic delays near the border over the weekend. On Sunday, four people were arrested at the protests for mischief.

Ivy Caruana, a customs broker at Rutherford Global Logistics near the border crossing, says getting to work recently has included trying to evade crowds and being questioned by RCMP.

"It was tense, you never knew what could happen," she said about the situation in the area since Saturday. 

But on Tuesday morning, Caruana said the roads were clear.

"I didn't see anybody when i came down to work this morning," she said. "It's just a relief."

Sangha says Mounties are now monitoring southbound traffic at the Pacific Highway crossing to ensure drivers intend to enter the United States.

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, giving the federal government temporary and extraordinary powers to deal with the protests that have shut down several border crossings this month.