On January 15th, 2022, Canada made a rule that all truckers coming from US will have to produce proof of vaccination. Likewise, all truck drivers going from Canada to the US should either be vaccinated, or should stay isolated for 14 days after returning from the US.
On January 22nd, 2022, US also released a similar order for truck drivers coming from Canada and going to Canada.
Why was that an issue?
Many people in the US and Canada believe that Covid is just a flu and does not need masking, lockdown, or vaccination.
There is a set of people who believe that vaccinations are a conspiracy of pharma companies and are not, in fact, needed by humans. Such people are called anti-vaxxers.
The anti-vaxxers have also resisted vaccination for Covid 19. Not only do they themselves not want to get vaccinated, they also want to stop others from getting a vaccine.
What happened next?
Protests started on the Canadian side of the border.
The Ambassador Bridge is a bridge that connects the cities of Detroit (Michigan, US) with Windsor (Ontario, Canada).
25% of the goods traded between US and Canada pass through this single bridge. A lot of those products are car parts. These are exported from Canada to Detroit, where cars are manufactured by some of the largest car companies of the world.
Truck drivers blocked this bridge on the Canadian side of the border. This stopped the movement of cars and trucks on both sides. Neither Canadians nor Americans could cross and go to the other side. They call themselves the Freedom Convoy.
There are very few visa requirements to travel from US to Canada and vice versa. Citizens travel between the two countries in border areas quite freely. So, this blockade impacted both private travelers and commercial vehicles.
The protests were peaceful at first, leading to only blockade. However, soon, images like Nazi flags and anti Trudeau symbols started appearing at the protests.
While the protesters said that they were truck drivers affected by the rules, Canadian authorities and the Canadian Truckers Body has said that the protesters are not truck drivers.
What has happened since then?
The Canadian Police have issued at least 1700 tickets and made 25 arrests. It has not made much difference to the state of protest.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has moved to a secret location with his family for his protection.
A judge in Canada has asked the government to end the blockade by using police force if required. However, so far, the police have not taken any physical action. They have only issued traffic violation tickets and made arrests.
The US government has also requested Canada to help resolve the blockade because it is affecting supply of things and manufacture of cars in the US.
The protesters have moved their trucks away from the Ambassador Bridge but traffic has still not started.
Protests have also started in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Some trucks and heavy vehicles also tried to disrupt arrivals and departures at the Ottawa airport.
At least 3 border posts between Canada and US have been blocked by protesters – the Ambassador bridge being the main one. The other two are: Coutts, Alberta, and Emerson, Manitoba.
On the US side, some Facebook groups and Twitter accounts spoke about similar protests. It was later found that most of these accounts and posts had been made from Romania, Vietnam, Bangladesh, etc.. However, the authorities are expecting some protest action on the US side and are making preparations.
What is the current status?
At this time, the protests are underway on the Canadian side. 3 US-Canada border checkposts are blocked. The police have neither fired nor taken any physical action, in spite of being deployed.
The protesters have used farm equipment, heavy trucks, and other equipment which is large in size and difficult to remove. They have set up temporary kitchens and are honking loudly at periodic intervals.
On February 15th, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, invoked the Emergency Act. This is the first time in Canadian history that the Act has been invoked.
After the Emergency Act was invoked, the truckers left all the three border posts and they could be opened for traffic and trade.
On February 18th, there is only one protest site remaining – outside the Parliament building in the Canadian capital, Ottawa.
Any other places affected?
France has seen an anti vaccine protest reach the streets.
In other countries too, for other reasons, protests have been held in the recent past (within the last 2 years) with no identifiable leader. Some examples are Kazakhstan, India, Haiti, Peru, Hong Kong, US, etc.
Images: Instagram and website of Ambassador Bridge, Google Maps
