Protesters block traffic for 2nd day at Ambassador Bridge international crossing
CBC
Protesters have blocked traffic to the Ambassador Bridge, linking Windsor, Ont., to Detroit, for the second day in a row.
Dozens of demonstrators lined Huron Church Road — which feeds traffic to the international crossing from Highway 401 — with trucks and vehicles starting Monday afternoon and into Tuesday morning, with police asking people to avoid the area.
They are blocking the border in solidarity with similar protests in Ottawa and across the country over COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truck drivers and broader public health measures.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) had listed the Ambassador Bridge as "temporarily closed" just minutes before midnight Monday, in an update to its website dedicated to border wait times.
By early Tuesday morning, however, Windsor Police said in a tweet that one lane of U.S.-bound traffic is open and can be accessed via the Wyandotte Street West entrance.
While CBC News was there, police were directing traffic at that single-lane entrance. No lanes were open to allow vehicles to exit the Ambassador Bridge into Canada.
It's not immediately clear why CBSA would deem the bridge as temporarily closed, although one lane is operating slowly.
Ontario Provincial Police and the border agency are directing regular travellers to the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel and commercial traffic to the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia, Ont., nearly a two-hour drive away.
As of Tuesday morning, the CBSA reported a 15-minute delay at the Blue Water Bridge.
Earlier Monday, protesters waving Canadian flags and holding homemade signs blocked traffic in both directions to Windsor's international crossing.
Late Monday night, some protesters told CBC News they had no plans of leaving.
"We did the rally Saturday, Sunday; we got here today around one o'clock.… By the looks of it we're here to stay," said Nick Friesen, who is from nearby Leamington, Ont.
Friesen set up a barbecue on Huron Church Road.
"People who want the vaccine, go get the vaccine. I don't want the vaccine. I'm just out here, we want our lives back. It stops you from doing stuff. I've got a family, I'm going to enjoy life. This mask on my face, that's not how I want my kids to remember me."
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