Canadian judge rules that police can forcibly remove truckers blocking bridge to the US

A Canadian judge ruled in favor of the City of Windsor and some business groups calling for law enforcement to forcibly remove truckers that are blocking access to a bridge to the United States.

Officials argued that reduced traffic across the Ambassador Bridge has caused economic damage to both countries.

"The economic hardship that this occupation is having on international trade is not sustainable, and it must come to an end," said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, who noted that about one third of the trade between the two countries flows through the blocked bridge.

Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz agreed and ordered the injunction to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Business groups had petitioned the government to stop the blockade in order to keep trade flowing across the international bridge.

“We respectfully urge the Canadian government to act swiftly to address the disruption to the flow of trade and its impact on manufacturers and other businesses on both sides of the border,” read a statement from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable.

“The business community is rolling up its sleeves to find workarounds and keep facilities up and running, but we are already seeing some production cuts, shift reductions, and temporary plant closures," they added.

Businesses on both sides of the bridge reported that they had to slow down their operations because of the restricted traffic.

Earlier on Friday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a state of emergency and said that demonstrators might be imprisoned or fined if they persist in the protest.

“Let me be as clear as I can: there will be consequences for these actions, and they will be severe. This is a pivotal, pivotal moment for our nation," said Ford.

On Thursday the Biden administration called on Canada to use federal powers to stop the trucker protests and offered assistance from the Department of Homeland Security.

"Whatever their intended, stated purpose is, this effort is going to have the potential to have a huge impact on workers and the American public," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday about the truckers.

Some protesters vowed that they would return even if police removed them for a time.

"You can bring police right now, remove us, guess what's going to happen tomorrow?" said one unidentified protester to a reporter from the National.

"More people will show up! End of story!" he added.

Here's more about the injunction to end the trucker blockade:

Injunction sought to end Ambassador Bridge blockadewww.youtube.com