Carlos Osorio and Chris Helgren

OTTAWA/WINDSOR (Ontario) – A six-day-old blockade along North America’s busiest trading corridor has ended. Canadians raised questions about the tactics employed to control protests at the Ottawa border and Windsor.

The “Freedom Convoy” protests, started by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, have turned into a rallying point for people opposing the policies of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, covering everything from pandemic restrictions to a carbon tax.

Images of officers interacting with protestors in Ottawa and helping them to put down a tent have triggered a social media storm. One video shows an Ontario Provincial Police Officer telling the demonstrators, “I support your guys 100%.”

According to the police, the comments of the officer were not in keeping with OPP values and were being investigated.

According to the military, at least two Canadian Special Operations Forces members are being investigated for their alleged support of the protests.

On Sunday, hundreds of protesters blocked traffic trying to attend the demonstration in downtown Ottawa. They were frustrated at what they claimed was inaction by police.

One protestor in front the police headquarters said, “We must come together as individuals and say that this will not stand.” He claimed he is an Ottawa resident but refused to identify himself for fear of reprisals. We need the police support their oath to this community. If they don’t, they should be fired.”

Two days after Ontario’s declaration of a state emergency, Windsor police cleared the Ambassador Bridge. This bridge is a critical trade route connecting to Detroit.

Detroit’s bridge blockade hampered the supply chain of Detroit’s automakers. Ford Motor (NYSE 🙂 Co was forced to sell its second largest U.S. automobile manufacturer, General Motors Co. (NYSE 🙂 Toyota Motor (NYSE.) Corp will reduce production. Based on data from IHS Markit, the loss due to blockades in the automotive industry could reach $850 million.

Police in Ottawa blame the situation on the overlap of jurisdictions between federal, provincial, and local police.

Federal ministers described the lack of law enforcement in capital as “inexplicable”.

Bill Blair, the Emergency Preparedness Minister, said that the country needed the police in order to complete its job. Blair was a former leader of Toronto’s police force and spoke to local television on Sunday.

“We need them enforce our laws and restore peace and security at our borders, in our cities. We also need them using the tools they have.”

Windsor Police claimed that during the demonstration police respected protestors’ right of peaceful assembly as well as freedom to express themselves. The police and protestors were locked in a heated standoff that lasted more than 24 hours before the Ambassador Bridge was finally cleared. Police arrested around 20-30 people but reported no violent incidents.

According to a statement by police on Sunday, “The priority was public safety and the ultimate goal is peaceful resolution.”

Last week, protesters shut down small border crossings in Alberta, Manitoba, and British Columbia. On the weekend, they shut down the Pacific Highway Border Point in British Columbia.

($1 = 1.2721 Canadian dollars)