I once lived not far from the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit to Windsor, Canada. My family would cross the bridge every year, traveling to visit family in New York.
It is hard to overstate the importance of that bridge in international trade. It is the single busiest international land border crossing in North America, accommodating 27 percent of the approximately $400 billion in annual trade between Canada.
The Ambassador Bridge has now been added to the ever-expanding list of transportation arteries and cities that are staging areas for the clearly effective “Freedom Convoy“.
The Canadian protester blockade at the Ambassador Bridge has prevented at least $650 million worth of goods from coming into the U.S. since demonstrators protesting COVID mandates arrived at the border on Monday night.On Thursday, Canadian truck drivers will enter their third full day of protest at the bridge, demanding the federal government revoke its vaccine mandate for cross-border truck drivers, which went into effect on January 15.
America’s automakers are already feeling the hit after three days of car parts not being delivered.
GM and Ford Motor Co. confirmed the bridge blockade has disrupted production of new vehicles and engines at some of their plants Wednesday and Thursday.About 1 p.m. Thursday, GM notified employees of its Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant that it was canceling second shift due to a parts shortage caused by the bridge protest. In a notice obtained by the Free Press, GM said its first shift at the plant would resume Friday.GM makes its midsize SUVs at Lansing Delta Township. GM canceled the second shift Wednesday and the first shift Thursday at the factory due to the bridge protest preventing parts from getting to the plant.Ford’s plant in Oakville, Ontario and its Windsor engine plant are working at “reduced capacity” due to bridge situation, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said.
At this point, reasonable politicians are beginning to recognize those essential goods and produce are more important than ineffective mandates for vaccines that neither stop infection nor transmission. The Canadian provinces of Alberta, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island are either ending or substantially rolling back their mandates and vaccine policies.
But the Karens gotta Karen. Harvard professor and CNN analyst Juliette Kayyem want to throw the full force of the Deep State regulatory army at the truckers.
Contrast Kayyem’s punitive recommendations against the nature of the protests across Canada.
Elites like Kayyem are finding it very difficult to reconcile their assertions about the truckers to the reality that is visible to anyone with access to social media.
Laughably, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer demanded the bridge be opened “immediately”.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on Canada to take “all necessary and appropriate steps to immediately and safely reopen traffic so we can continue growing our economy, supporting good-paying jobs, and lowering costs for families.””Our communities and automotive, manufacturing and agriculture businesses are feeling the effects,” she added. “It’s hitting paychecks and production lines. That is unacceptable.”
Biden is urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to use “federal” power to crush this inconvenient rebellion.
Canada should use federal powers to ease the growing economic disruption caused by the blockage of a vital U.S.-Canada trade route by protesters opposed to coronavirus mandates, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration said on Thursday….U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged their Canadian counterparts “to use Federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border,” a White House official said on Thursday.”U.S. and Canadian border and customs authorities are working with great urgency to ensure the continued flow of goods and services across our international border, leveraging alternative land routes, as well as air and sea options.”The U.S. homeland security adviser, Liz Sherwood Randall, is due to speak with her Canadian Deputy Minister of National Defence Jody Thomas.
Given all of Biden’s successes, Trudeau will be well advised to jettison the mandates and open the country up fully.
Interestingly some liberal Canadian politicians smell blood in the water. A Liberal member of the Canadian Parliament is calling out his own government for what he says is its divisive management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Joel Lightbound told reporters in Ottawa today that federal COVID-19 measures, such as vaccination mandates for travellers and civil servants, need to be re-evaluated and the public needs a clear road map for when restrictions will be fully lifted.Lightbound, who represents the Louis-Hebert riding in Quebec City, says he worries the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a tone and policies that are divisive and risk undermining public trust.
Meanwhile, the Canadian flag is now being adopted as the symbol of freedom around the world.
I have to say, though, Biden has had a truly historic presidency already. Who would have ever thought we would need to worry about what is going on along the northern border?
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