WINDSOR, ON — The busiest U.S. to Canada border crossing is open after protesters demonstrating against COVID-19 measures blocked it for nearly a week.
The tense standoff at the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, eased somewhat Saturday when Canadian police persuaded demonstrators to move the trucks they had used to barricade the entrance to the busy international crossing, but protesters reconvened nearby.
This demonstration against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other issues has hurt the economies of both nations as international crossings was blocked.
Police in Windsor, Ontario, arrested 25 to 30 protesters and towed several vehicles Sunday near the Ambassador Bridge, which reopened to traffic late Sunday night.
But a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa, continues as city residents seethed over authorities’ inability to reclaim the streets.
Police are forming a new command center with provincial and national authorities that they say would help them respond better to the larger demonstration that has paralyzed downtown. In Ottawa, the ranks of protesters swelled to what police said was 4,000 demonstrators.
A senior government official told The Associated Press that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet virtually with the leaders of Canada’s provinces on Monday morning.
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