Truckers Row: Ontario Declares Emergency; US Asks Canada To End Blockade
Meanwhile, Paris has banned the 'Convoi de la Liberté', the truckers' anti-vaccine pass protests in France.
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Canada's Ontario province on Friday, 11 February, declared a state of emergency amid continuing protests by trucker, Reuters reported.
Earlier on Thursday, US officials had urged the Canadian government to end the truckers' blockade.
A White House official had said on Thursday, that, "Secretary (Alejandro) Mayorkas (US Homeland Security) and Secretary (Pete) Buttigieg (Transportation) each spoke with their Canadian counterparts, urging them to use Federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border," as quoted by Reuters.
The border crossing that the truckers have blockaded – the Windsor Detroit Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Ontario – generates around 25 percent of US-Canada trade.
Bilateral trade between the two nations is worth more than $600 billion.
Windsor's mayor told CNN "[If] the protesters don't leave, there will have to be a path forward. If that means physically removing them, that means physically removing them, and we're prepared to do that."
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer brought up the issue of production and workers' income.
"It's hitting pay checks and production lines. That is unacceptable," she said.
Car manufacturers, for instance, are appealing to the government for help to end the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge.
The protests were sparked by the Justin Trudeau government's vaccine mandate for the truckers that was introduced on 15 January.
They were initially exempted from vaccination, and did not need to be fully jabbed while entering Canada from the US.
Failing to do so now, the new mandate says, would require them quarantine for 14 days.
The anti-vaccine mandate 'Freedom Convoy' blew up into a protest against the Canadian government and its overall COVID response.
Protests escalated to the extent that a state of emergency had to imposed on the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
DHS Says Super Bowl at Risk
The US Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning about a convoy of truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccine mandates imposed by the US government.
Truckers in the US, inspired by what's happening in Canada, may launch a 'Freedom Convoy' of their own over the weekend that could disrupt the final match of the US National Football League.
Known as the Super Bowl, it is one of the largest sporting events in the world, and is scheduled to be held on Sunday, 13 February, in Los Angeles.
The protests could therefore, start in California, and then move on to Washington DC.
It also said that the truckers would most likely mimic the Canadian truckers, and start blocking roads.
A bulletin with the warning was issued to law enforcement agencies across the US.
'Convoi de la Liberté' Banned in Paris
Meanwhile, the police in Paris have banned the 'Convoi de la Liberté' protests.
A direct transition of 'Freedom Convoy', truckers in France have started a protest against the Macron government's vaccine pass policy.
The vaccine pass requires people in the country older than 16 years of age to be fully vaccinated in order to enter restaurants, entertainment venues, and to even access planes and trains.
The French truckers had planned to drive to Paris on Friday, 11 February, while a similar protest has been planned for Monday, 14 February, in Brussels, Belgium.
The mayor of Belgium has already banned the protest.
Truckers' protests in France aren't as as big as the ones in Canada , as of now.
The Facebook group behind 'Convoi de la Liberté', however, has already gathered more than 300,000 followers.
Only about 8 percent of France's adult population, however, is unvaccinated.
(With inputs from CNN and Reuters)
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