Canadian truck drivers block border crossing and protest at capital over vaccine rule
What started as a convoy of truckers protesting Covid-19 mandates has snowballed into a blockade in the Canadian capital and the obstruction of a US-Canadian border crossing, CNN reports.
Some protesters pressured staff at a homeless shelter to give them food, the facility said.
And criminal investigations are underway after the alleged "desecration" of monuments during weekend protests that spilled into Monday.
The protests stemmed from the "Freedom Convoy" of truckers that traveled across Canada for several days before arriving in the capital city of Ottawa on Saturday. The drivers oppose a recent vaccine mandate requiring truckers entering Canada to be fully vaccinated or face testing and quarantine requirements.
Downtown Ottawa remained packed with rigs and cars Monday morning as protesters rallied against Covid-19 mandates and some legislators were set to return to Parliament Hill.
In western Canada, trucks and cars have been blocking the Coutts border crossing just north of Sweet Grass, Montana, where Interstate 15 is a major commercial artery for US-Canada supply chains. The critical route is called Highway 4 on the Canadian side.
"Alberta RCMP ask motorists to continue to stay away from Hwy 4 south of #Lethbridge to the #Coutts border crossing," the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta tweeted late Sunday.
"Traffic continues to remain immobilized in both the NB and SB directions. At this time, no motor vehicles are able to access the border for entry/re-entry," the agency said.
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