TORONTO – Ontario has declared a state of emergency and is threatening fines of up to $100,000 and up to a year in prison for protestors who have laid siege to Ottawa and blocked border crossings, including the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont.
Premier Doug Ford said the protestors have made their point, but it’s time to go home.
While the measures are temporary, Ford added his government plans to introduce legislation that would make it illegal to block highways, airports, railway and bridges.
“To the occupiers, please go home,” Ford said, calling the situation in Ottawa and Windsor a siege and an occupation.
Protestors, many of whom drove across the country in a so-called Freedom Convoy, have dug themselves in at the nation’s capital, forcing many businesses to remain closed while also being accused of harassing passersby with an anti-mandate and anti-government message.
They’ve vowed to remain in Ottawa until the federal and provincial governments lift all COVID-19 vaccination measures, including the requirement for truckers to be fully vaccinated to avoid quarantine upon return to Canada. Vaccine passports are also in their crosshairs, as well as lockdowns.
Ford, who admitted going snowmobiling last weekend, said the restrictions have saved tens of thousands of lives and said he would not negotiate with those holding Ottawa hostage, adding the measures will be lifted when public health dictates it’s safe.
The right to peacefully protest does not supplant the right of others to live their lives peacefully and without fear.
“Like all rights, these are not without reasonable limits,” Ford said, noting there is $700 million in two-way trade that crosses the Ambassador Bridge each day, affecting the livelihoods of 100s of thousands of Canadians, feeding millions of families.
“And while I appreciate the right to protest, that right cannot, and must not extend to cutting off that lifeline. We’re now two weeks into the siege of Ottawa. I call it a siege because that’s what it is. It’s an illegal occupation,” Ford said.
“This is no longer a protest. With a protest you peacefully make your point and you go home. And I know the vast majority of people did that. They came, they peacefully demonstrated, they made their point and they left.”
Ford said those people have been heard loud and clear.
“But I want to send a message to those still in Ottawa and to those at our border crossings: Please go home. And to those of you who brought your children, please go home. I urge you it’s time to leave, and it’s time to do so peacefully,” the premier said.
“But to the very small crews who have chosen to take a different path; to those that have chosen to take a city of 1 million people hostage for the past two weeks; to those who have attempted to disrupt our way of life, by targeting our lifeline for food, fuel and goods across our border; to those trying to force a political agenda through disruption, intimidation and chaos, my message to you is this: Your right to make a political statement does not outweigh thousands of workers to make their living.”
The City of Windsor has filed an injunction, expected to be heard on Friday, to force protesters to stop blocking the Ambassador Bridge. One lane, coming into Canada, has been opened to traffic.
