Protesters opposing pandemic restrictions flouted a court order and emergency rules, continuing to occupy a vital Canada-U.S. trade corridor early on Saturday, hours after a judge granted an injunction to end the blockade that has crippled North America’s well-knitted auto industry.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised President Joe Biden quick action to end the crisis, and on Friday a Canadian judge ordered an end to the four-day-long blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest land border crossing.
The order came into effect at 7 p.m. EST, but five hours after the deadline, some 100 protesters were milling around the entrance to the bridge, waving Canadian flags.
While the number of protesters and police dropped as the night progressed, demonstrators continued to block the bridge with trucks and pick-up vans, preventing any flow of traffic in either direction.
Protesters sang the Canadian national anthem and midnight, and some shouted “Freedom!”
Police, who started to gather in a parking lot a few blocks away from the protesters, began handing out pamphlets that outlined penalties under Ontario’s emergency order, which took effect at midnight.
Trudeau earlier told reporters that no action was off the table.
On Friday, the Ontario Superior Court granted an injunction designed to end the six-day blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, as assembly plants in Ontario and Michigan continue to curtail production due to parts shortages.
The motion for injunction, filed by the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, with the City of Windsor and the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General participating as intervenors, was heard Friday afternoon.
