After publicly supporting the anti-vaccine mandate activists protesting in Ottawa in recent weeks, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen said Thursday it's time for the convoy and other protesters blocking two major border crossings to end their demonstrations and go home. Bergen, who has called the convoy a "passionate, patriotic and peaceful" group of Canadians concerned about freedom at a time of COVID restrictions, said the protesters have made their point to parliamentarians and the Conservative Party will take up their fight in the House of Commons instead. The anti-mandate protest that started in Ottawa has spread to Windsor, Ont., and Coutts, Alta., disrupting the flow of goods and crippling Canada-U.S. trade.
Late Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for all members of Parliament from every party to denounce the "illegal blockades and occupations happening across the country." Trudeau said he briefed the leaders of all opposition parties on the latest developments and stressed on them to call for an end to the blockades. There are blockades at border crossings near Coutts, Alta., Emerson, Man., and the busy Windsor-Detroit Ambassador Bridge. "They're harming the communities they're taking place in and they're hurting jobs, businesses, and our country's economy," Trudeau said in a series of posts on Twitter. "We'll continue to work closely with municipal and provincial governments to end these blockades, and to make sure they have the resources they need." Trudeau said he also spoke with Mayor Drew Dilkens about the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge that links Windsor, Ont., with Detroit. Bergen calls for protest to end Earlier Thursday, in a message aimed at protesters, Bergen said "the time has come for you to take down the barricades, stop the disruptive action and come together. "The economy you want to see reopened is hurting. You protested because you love your country and you want your freedoms back. That message has been heard." Bergen said barricades and trucks should be removed for the sake of the economy and because "it's the right thing to do." During the weeks-long protest in the nation's capital, Bergen posed for pictures with some convoy members. Citing internal emails, the Globe and Mail has reported that Bergen was previously reluctant to tell the truckers to go home, and preferred instead to make the issue Trudeau's problem. Other prominent Conservatives including MP Pierre Poilievre, a candidate for the party's permanent leadership have closely associated themselves with the convoy and its call for an end to federal COVID-19 restrictions. Poilievre has said the convoy represents "the people who want to stand and speak for their freedoms" and "all those that our government and our media have insulted and left behind." "Freedom, not fear," Poilievre said in a recent speech. "Truckers, not Trudeau." Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, the party's transport critic, was a vocal defender of the convoy's early efforts to force the federal government to abandon the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. She has since soured on the movement as the protests have spread to critical border crossings. "They need to move from the blockades, that's illegal. Whether it's on a bridge, whether it's a pipeline or a highway, we can't have them blocking critical infrastructure," Lantsman told reporters. "I think we need a plan from the prime minister on how to end this." Speaking in question period, Trudeau said the Conservatives have "supported" and "enabled" blockades across the country. "The leader of the Conservative Party and her team have been their biggest champions," he said. "The consequences of these actions are having dire impacts. They're impacting trade, they're hurting jobs and they're obstructing our communities." Bergen shot back, saying Trudeau is personally to blame for the chaos for pushing shots on people who don't want them. "The prime minister continues to blame others for things that he's responsible for," she said. Windsor's Ambassador Bridge has been closed to commercial traffic since Monday. Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products have been held back as 50 to 75 vehicles and about 100 anti-mandate protesters camp out on the main road that leads on and off the bridge. To help bring this protest to a close, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the federal government will deploy more RCMP officers to the region to help local law enforcement. Mendicino said more officers would also be sent to Ottawa and Coutts. "We'll continue to send resources as needed," Mendicino said. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the federal government's response has been pitiful. "Instead of solving problems, we have a prime minister that wants to debate jurisdiction," he said. "It's clear, there's no debate here, there's federal work to be done to ensure our borders are working."
Their corporate overlords have started feeling the crunch on their bottom lines and are stepping in.
Weird how all the people who were crying in 2020 about how blocking a street kills people and hurts the economy have been incredibly silent during this weeks-long border blockade
Weird how all the people who were crying in 2020 about how blocking a street kills people and hurts the economy have been incredibly silent during this weeks-long border blockade