Vehicles block the route leading from the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit and Windsor
(Picture: REUTERS)Arrests have been made in Ottawa as police continue to battle protesting truckers after nearly two weeks of demonstrations over Covid mandates.
The Canadian capital has remained in a state of emergency since Sunday as the city has been paralysed by the ongoing trucker protests.
Police have made 23 arrests out of thousands of protesters so far in Canada.
Nearly 80 criminal investigations have been opened in relation to the demonstrations.
Freedom Convoy begun as a movement against Canada’s Covid vaccine mandates for cross-border drivers, now it has developed into a challenge for wider Covid rules including passes to indoor restaurants.
Ottawa Deputy Police Chief Steve Bell said: “Our message to the demonstrators remains the same: Don’t come. If you do, there will be consequences.”
He told reporters the police have immobilised many heavy vehicles taking part in the blockade as officers slowly take back control.
Children are in a quarter of the 418 protest vehicles in the downtown, he added.
Police contacted Children’s Aid Society with concerns for the welfare of the kids because of the cold, noise, carbon monoxide risks and access to sanitation.
It comes after the truckers were silenced from honking their horns with an injunction.
Judge Hugh McLean ruled the truckers were to be silent for the next 10 days after noisy honking sparked fury among the residents.
Across the globe in New Zealand, the capital Wellington faced a partial standstill as vehicles blocked roads around parliament and other key locations in a protest similar to the Freedom Convoy in Canada.
Crowds gathered outside parliament in Wellington shouting slogans as they protested against Jacinda Ardern’s Covid rules.
