Ontario court grants injunction to end bridge blockade by truckers

Protesters given until 7pm est to move from Ambassador Bridge between US and Canada

An Ontario court has granted an injunction to bring to an end to the blockade by truckers of the Ambassador Bridge crossing from the US into Canada.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz gave protesters until 7pm eastern time to clear the bridge, which has been shut down by truckers for five days and caused havoc at the US-Canada border.

The Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association had applied for the injunction and told the court that the blockade was costing the industry millions of dollars per day.

Specifics of the injunction were being worked out and were expected to be presented to the court on Friday afternoon.

The move came hours after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with Joe Biden about the situation.

“We discussed the American and indeed global influences on the protest,” Mr Trudeau said.

“We talked about the US-based flooding of the 911 phone lines in Ottawa, the presence of US citizens in the blockade and the impact of foreign money to fund this illegal activity.”

Earlier in the day Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency and threatened stiff penalties against anyone interfering with the flow of goods and people.

And he promised that violators would face up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

The Ambassador Bridge is the busiest border crossing between the US and Canada, carrying 25 per cent of all trade between the two countries.

The Canadian protests were sparked by truck drivers opposed to a border crossing vaccine mandate and saw thousands of demonstrators descend on Ottawa, where many have stayed and plunged the city into gridlock.

Ottawa’s mayor has asked for 1,800 additional police officers, which would double the size of the capital’s force.