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Clogs in Canada: The Freedom Convoy

Beginning on January 29, around 1,000 to 2,000 truckers participated in demonstrations in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. On January 31, the Washington Post reported that an estimated total of 8,000 people had gathered and 400 vehicles remained parked outside the Parliament building and 1,000 vehicles blocked the city streets, according to estimates by the police on Feb. 10 and Feb. 5-6, respectively.

Largely organized by the “Freedom Convoy 2022” group, the protestors oppose Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates and social restrictions, especially those on truck drivers. A vaccine requirement for truckers returning to Canada from the United States went into effect on January 15. On January 22, the U.S. instituted the same requirement for Canadian drivers entering the United States.

From the truckers’ point of view, they worry that vaccine mandates may introduce new supply chain delays and exacerbate existing worker shortages. Dennis Darby, president of a lobbying group named Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, wrote a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alerting that “production will stop or slow across the country” as a result of the vaccine mandate.

Over the weeks, the protests escalated, disrupting transportation. According to the Wall Street Journal as of February 12, Ottawa declared a state of emergency, arrested 28 people, and initialized 140 criminal investigations stemming from the protest. Ottawa police also issued 2,600 tickets for “alleged violations such as excessive horn honking, public consumption of alcohol and the use of fireworks,” which have negatively impacted residents’ ability to sleep and work from home.

In conjunction with the protests, trucks also clogged Ambassador Bridge, a vital border crossing where the U.S. Department of Transportation has specified that around 30% (or $600 billion) of US-Canada trade is transported every year over the bridge alone. Since about a third of these goods affect the automobile industry, the blockade forced some auto factories to reduce production. For example, G.M. canceled two shifts at a factory in Michigan, and Ford Motor and Toyota shut down some operations because necessary auto parts manufactured in Canada could not be transported.

Nevertheless, on February 11, a Canadian judge allowed police to remove protesters and vehicles, and as of February 14, the bridge has been cleared and reopened. The protests exemplify a deeply rooted divide that persists around COVID-19 restrictions, viewed by workers as a breach of freedom but perceived by politicians as a crucial step towards economic recovery.

 

 

 

 

Sources:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/freedom-convoy-canada-trucker-protest-what-11644441237

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/13/1080469644/ambassador-bridge-us-canada-covid-protesters-cleared-by-police

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/10/world/protests-in-canada 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/truckers-fret-over-pending-covid-19-vaccine-rules-at-u-s-canada-border-11642118416

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/02/13/freedom-convoy-arrests-canada-clears-protesters-from-crucial-bridge-between-us-and-canada/ 

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/22926134/canada-trucker-freedom-convoy-protest-ottawa 

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/02/08/world/canada-trucker-protest#ottawa-truck-driver-protest-timeline 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/31/canada-ottawa-protests-trucker-coronavirus-vaccine/ 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/canada-trucker-protest-ottawa-shifts-to-aggressive-gear-in-policing-freedom-convoy-11644248545

 

Photos:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/01/31/canada-ottawa-protests-trucker-coronavirus-vaccine/

https://nypost.com/2022/02/08/truckers-force-ambassador-bridge-shutdown-over-vaccine-protest/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-60342800

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