Judge orders protesters to end blockade of Ambassador Bridge; Ontario premier

Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz gave protesters until 7 p.m. to end the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, the busiest crossing on the U.S.-Canada border and a vital supply route between automakers on both sides. As the deadline passed, the number of protesters lessened but many chose to defy the order, chanting “freedom,” waving flags, singing the national anthem and voting among themselves to stay put.

Earlier Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford upped the pressure on the protesters when he declared a state of emergency in the province, and said that he would seek to impose steep fines and prison time for people who continued to obstruct highways and bridges.

“We’re now two weeks into the siege of the city of Ottawa,” Ford, whose government has some jurisdiction over the capital city, said at a news conference. “I call it a siege because that’s what it is. It’s an illegal occupation. This is no longer a protest.”

But in the hours after, little appeared to have changed in the blockaded streets of Ottawa, where protesters held dance parties between truck convoys and police intervened only to direct traffic and give out tickets to some illegally parked vehicles. One driver said he received a ticket for 80 Canadian dollars.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned that consequences for protesters were “becoming more and more severe.”

“You don’t want to end up losing your license, end up with a criminal record, which will impact your job, your livelihood, even your ability to travel internationally, including to the U.S.,” he said at a news conference.

Ford said he would convene his cabinet and “urgently enact orders that will make crystal clear it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure.” He warned of penalties of up to $78,000 and a year in prison.

The initial state of emergency was to last 42 hours. The cabinet planned to meet Saturday to discuss further amendments, Ontario Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said.

Trudeau said he spoke with President Biden on Friday morning about the blockades, the presence of Americans, the “U.S.-based flooding of 911 lines in Ottawa” and the influx of foreign money to help fund the protests.

“We see that almost half of the funding through certain portals that is flowing to the barricades here in Canada is coming from the United States,” he said, but did not provide more detail. He said he and Biden agreed “that for the security of the people and the economy, these blockades cannot continue.”

Trudeau also said he remained reluctant to deploy troops against protesters. “Using military forces against civilian populations in Canada or in any other democracy is something to avoid having to do at all costs,” he said. “That’s why the solution right now is focused on police forces.”