Canada-US border reopens Ambassador Bridge connecting Canada, US reopens after week-long blockade
Ottawa/IBNS: The Ambassador Bridge connecting Canada and the United States, one of the busiest border crossings, reopened after a week-long blockade, the Detroit International Bridge Company announced in a statement late Sunday.
"The Ambassador Bridge is now fully open allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canada and U.S. economies once again," the company, which is responsible for maintaining the bridge, said in the statement.
The Canada Border Services Agency also confirmed the opening of the Ambassador Bridge crossing between Canada and the U.S.
The Ambassador Bridge border had been blocked by truckers' protesters for nearly a week.
On Sunday, Windsor Police Chief Pamela Mizuno reportedly said that they arrested between 25 and 30 people, seized five vehicles, and towed seven in an effort to clear protesters from the area.
Throughout Sunday the police, including officers from Windsor, London, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) continued to maintain a strong presence in the area, blocking off intersections close to the bridge and had been warning the remaining protesters to go home or they would be arrested.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in imports and exports cross the Ambassador bridge each day, and politicians on both sides of the border deprecated the economic impact of the protest against COVID-19 measures.
Windsor Police also warned that they are still monitoring the situation at the protest site.
"We continue to remind the public that enforcement is ongoing in the demonstration area and there will be zero tolerance for illegal activity," Windsor Police tweeted Monday morning. "The public should also continue to avoid the area."
We continue to remind the public that enforcement is ongoing in the demonstration area and there will be zero tolerance for illegal activity. The public should also continue to avoid the area.
— Windsor Police (@WindsorPolice) February 14, 2022
During the Sunday afternoon press conference, Mizuno said the police were working on their operational plans, with their main goals being to restore traffic flow in the area and reopen the bridge, but officers were trying to do so in a "safe and sustainable" way and added that those who interfere with or interrupt traffic flow in the area by the bridge would face criminal consequences.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens applauded the work of the police.
"Today, our national economic crisis at the Ambassador Bridge came to an end. Border crossings will reopen when it is safe to do so and I defer to police and border agencies to make that determination," Dilkens said in a statement on Sunday morning.
(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)
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