Small demonstration prompts police action near site of 2022 bridge blockade

Rally on the sidewalk at Tecumseh Road West and Huron Church Road in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV News Windsor)

What proved to be handful of demonstrators were protesting the federal carbon tax over the noon hour in Windsor moved police to act and remind the public that blocking “critical economic infrastructure” is illegal.

On Monday, four people took to the eastside sidewalk at Tecumseh Road West and Huron Church Road waving Canadian flags and posting signage in opposition to the federal government’s pollution pricing program.

“All it is, is a made up hoax to charge you more money and make you go bankrupt with no money in your pocket to even have your own home and feed your own family,” one of the demonstrators told CTV News, going only by the name Vincent. “It’s disgusting and it has to stop now.”

The planned protest in the same area where a few hundred people blockaded international trade across the Ambassador Bridge for a week in February 2022 raised enough concern for the Windsor Police Service to notify the public it would take precautionary action in the area and issue a warning to demonstrators:

“We will maintain a visible presence and respond as needed to protect our community and ensure that those who attempt to block or impede access to the bridge or other critical infrastructure will be held criminally accountable,” read a statement on X account for WPS.Windsor police on scene near a rally at Tecumseh Road West and Huron Church Road in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, April 15, 2024. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV News Windsor)

Further north along Huron Church Rd., at the intersection with Girardot Street, officers prepared signage for a potential road detour.

According to Transport Canada, the 2022 six-day blockade at the Ambassador Bridge contributed directly to an estimated $2.3 billion in halted trade.

This afternoon, demonstrators railed against the price on carbon as a measure hurting Canadians while dismissing the accompanying Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) as a “treat dangled in front of your face.” Although the demonstration took place on the same day of the first CCR payment of the year, demonstrators say the protest was not connected.