The bridge between the U.S. and Canada has been reopened
The police finally intervened and dispersed the protesters. But not all of them.
Border crossings were blocked for almost a week, causing businesses on both sides of the border to lose money. Downtown Ottawa stores also suffered financial losses: the Rideau Centre, the busiest mall in the city, lost almost $20 million CAD in the first week alone.
The damage from the bridge blockade could run into hundreds of millions of dollars. According to some estimates, each day of the blockade caused losses of at least $1 billion USD. The Export Development Corporation of Canada (EDC) estimated the damage at a much smaller amount: $600,000 USD per day.
On Friday, the Ontario Supreme Court officially barred protesters from blocking the bridge. On Sunday morning, police went to disperse people on the bridge and arrested about 30 people. Traffic was restored. But the mayor of Windsor, where the Ambassador Bridge is located, is concerned that protesters could return at any time if the police officers are removed.
Ottawa residents staged counter-protests this weekend, Feb. 12 and 13, expressing their outrage and preventing new truckers from joining the blockade of downtown. On Saturday, about 500 people organized by union representatives marched through Ottawa, but stayed away from downtown for fear of conflict. By Sunday evening, the spontaneous counter-protest rally had attracted at least 1,000 people.
Residents of the city are dissatisfied not only with the ongoing protests of truckers, but also with the inaction of the police. Videos of police officers expressing sympathy for the truckers and saying they agree with their demands, as well as photos of men in a hot tub set up on a street in downtown Ottawa, have developed on social media. Dancing, barbecues and street games continue on Wellington Street.
It was stated that on Saturday, February 12, one of the organizers of the protest, Tamara Leach, agreed with the city administration that on Monday we should start removing the trucks from the streets. But a few hours later, Leach tweeted that the media was lying and there was no deal between representatives of the protesters and the city administration.
The federal government cannot yet decide whether to involve the armed forces. The Ottawa police are obviously not coping with the situation. But it is also obvious that any forceful intervention would lead to more hatred for Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau.
