Canada urged to end bridge blockade

OTTAWA－The United States has urged its northern neighbor to use its federal powers to end the truck blockade protesting Canada's COVID-19 restrictions, as the bumper-to-bumper demonstration forced auto plants on both sides of the border to shut down or scale back production.

The bumper-to-bumper demonstration by the self-proclaimed Freedom Truck Convoy entered its fourth day on Thursday at the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor in Ontario to Detroit in Michigan, disrupting the flow of auto parts and other products between the two countries.

The White House said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke with their Canadian counterparts and urged them to help resolve the standoff.

Federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said Royal Canadian Mounted Police reinforcements are being sent to Windsor, Ottawa and Coutts, where another border blockade is happening.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with leaders of Canada's opposition online late on Thursday and spoke with Windsor's mayor. Trudeau's office said there is a willingness to "respond with whatever it takes" to end the blockades.

Meanwhile, Conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford moved to cut off funding for the protests by successfully asking a court to freeze millions of dollars in donations to the convoy through crowdfunding site GiveSendGo. Ford has called the protests an occupation.

Canadian officials previously got GoFundMe to cut off funding after protest organizers used the site to raise about C$10 million ($7.8 million). GoFundMe determined that the fundraising effort violated the site's terms of service due to unlawful activity.

Copycat protests

US authorities are bracing for the possibility of similar truck convoy protests across the country, and authorities in Paris and Belgium banned road blockades to head off disruptions there too.

The US Department of Homeland Security said in a bulletin to local and state law enforcement agencies that it has received reports that truckers are planning to "potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities" in a protest against vaccine mandates and other issues.

According to a copy of Tuesday's bulletin obtained by The Associated Press, the convoy could begin in Southern California as early as this weekend, possibly disrupting traffic around Super Bowl and reach Washington in March in time for the State of the Union address.

The ban on road blockades in Europe and the threat of prison and heavy fines were likewise prompted by online chat groups in France that have been calling on drivers to converge in Paris starting on Friday night and to continue on to Brussels on Monday.

New York was expected to fire up to 3,000 unvaccinated municipal workers on Friday, according to the mayor's office. The number represents less than 1 percent of the city's workforce.

About 12,000 New York workers are unvaccinated, with about 3,000 of them on unpaid leave as of late January and could be the first group to be terminated. In addition, roughly 1,000 other new city employees must show proof of two doses by Friday.

Agencies - China Daily