The United States Has Urged Canada To Break The Truckers' Blockade
Officials from the United States have encouraged Canada's government to use its federal authority to remove a trucker blockade protesting Covid restrictions.
President Joe Biden is routinely briefed on the protests that have erupted in Ottawa and at a border crossing that accounts for a fifth of all US-Canada trade.
Automobile manufacturers and municipal governments are seeking an injunction to end the Ambassador Bridge roadblock.
Protesters in Ontario have been denied access to internet donations by an Ontario court.
After being removed off GoFundMe for allegedly breaking its harassment policy, the truckers have raised over $8 million (C$10 million, £5.9 million) through online site GiveSendGo.
The order "binds any and all parties with possession or control over these gifts," according to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose office pursued it.
According to a White House official, the US Secretaries of Homeland Security and Transportation spoke with their Canadian counterparts on Thursday, "urging them to use federal powers to resolve this situation at our shared border and offering the full support of our Homeland Security and Transportation departments."
"Our primary focus is on resolving the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge and other ports of entry," the person stated.
On Thursday evening, Windsor police tweeted that they were receiving assistance from other police jurisdictions "for the goal of assisting in the support of a peaceful resolution."
"There will have to be a way forward if the demonstrators do not leave. If it means physically removing them, that's exactly what we'll do, and we're ready to do it "Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor, told CNN.
"While the forceful removal of the demonstrators may be satisfying to some, such action may inflame the situation and undoubtedly cause more people to come here and add to the demonstration, and we don't want to risk further conflict," he continued.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan has also urged authorities to intervene, saying: "Paychecks and production lines are being impacted. That's not good enough."