Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is defending the country’s COVID-19 restrictions in the face of protesters who kept up the pressure with truck blockades Wednesday in the capital and at key U.S. border crossings, including the economically vital bridge to Detroit.
“They are essentially putting their foot on the throat of all Canadians,” Federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Federal Bill Blair said. “They are cutting off essential supply lines.”
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Prince Edward Island announced plans this week to roll back some or all of their precautions, with Alberta, Canada's most conservative province, dropping its vaccine passport immediately and getting rid of masks at the end of the month. “I'll be brutally honest: You are trying to have a rational conversation, and not everyone on the ground is a rational actor," Dilkens said. “Police are doing what is right by taking a moderate approach, trying to sensibly work through this situation where everyone can walk away, nobody gets hurt, and the bridge can open.”
About 90% of truckers in Canada are vaccinated, and trucker associations and many big-rig operators have denounced the protests. The U.S. has the same vaccination rule for truckers entering the country, so it would make little difference if Trudeau lifted the restriction.
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