Truckers stuck for hours behind Windsor blockade say 'it should be cleared out'

Windsor, Ont. -

Transport truck drivers have been idling for hours on Huron Church Road leading up the Ambassador Bridge border crossing in Windsor, Ont., because of a protest over COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

“They can protest a different way,” says Siva Sivayoganathan, a truck driver from Mississauga who arrived in Windsor around 8 p.m. Monday.

That’s when Windsor Police reported that Huron Church Road was closed between Tecumseh Road and College Avenue.

U.S.-bound traffic can only access the bridge from Wyandotte Street, because protestors have parked rigs and passenger vehicles at the entrance to the bridge.

Canada-bound traffic is also blocked in Windsor, at the bridge exit.

The traffic interruption is in support of the “Freedom Convoy” protest in Ottawa, where the city remains under a state of emergency. It is protesting all COVID-19 mandates.

According to various media reports out of Detroit, truckers have been sitting since Monday evening, waiting to cross into Canada.

“(I’m) only 45 minutes' drive across the border, I’m 12 hours waiting here,” says Sivayoganathan.

“I’m feeling very bad,” says Krish Thapa, a transport driver from London. “It’s a long time waiting here.”Supporters of the trucker convoy delayed traffic at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (Rich Garton/CTV Windsor)

Thapa says he’s frustrated by the pandemic as well, but needs to be able to continue on his trip across the border soon.

“If I lost today, my pickup, then definitely I will lose my earnings,” says Thapa. “It (the blockade) should be cleared out.”

“International commerce needs to resume,” Matt Moroun, chairman of the Detroit International Bridge Company, owners of the Ambassador Bridge, wrote in a media release Tuesday.

“We encourage the appropriate officials to take prompt action to alleviate the situation as quickly as possible in a manner that reflects mutual respect.”

Moroun says they “sympathize” with transport truck drivers caught in the blockade.

“We recognize that truck drivers are essential workers that work hard to deliver necessities to all of us, and that the Canadian government has done a tremendous job with vaccine rates,” says Moroun.

About $300 million in trade flows across the Ambassador Bridge every day, according to Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA).

Volpe believes the auto industry in Canada will be impacted with 24 hours.

“This small group of protestors, as loud as they may be, is going to get a big lesson in international relations very shortly,” says Volpe.