and occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have been cheered and funded by American right-wing activists and conservative politicians who also oppose vaccine mandates and the country’s liberal leader. In response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a plan on Wednesday to revise its nationwide Covid guidelines, which could result in looser mask and social distancing policies - provided that a fresh wave of infections doesn't arise.WASHINGTON (AP) - The Canadians who have disrupted travel and trade with the U.S. That's down from an omicron-era peak of 800,000 per day in January. As of Wednesday, the country's seven-day average of daily new cases is just under 130,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. states, causing multiple state governments to relax mandates in recent weeks - making larger protests additionally unlikely. New daily Covid cases are also currently plummeting across most U.S. especially in Toronto, Canada's largest city, where indoor dining has lost 408 days to Covid-related closures as of January. Vaccine mandates tend to be more strict in Canada than the U.S. ![]() But it's uncertain whether any larger, more widespread protests will occur. Vaccine mandate protests in the States certainly exist - recently, in New York and Los Angeles. Similar scenarios have already happened in countries like France, Belgium, New Zealand and Israel. The protests have also raised fears that supply chains could be further disrupted by copycat protests in major U.S. imports from Canada like snack foods, red meats, vegetable oils, processed fruit and fresh vegetables could be impacted, as well. Such delays could exacerbate inflation on the price of new cars, which have risen by 12.2% in the last year alone. Ford, General Motors and Toyota all announced having to shut down or delay vehicle production last week, due to the blockades. and Canada - with $360 million in trade per day, according to Reuters.Ī large part of that trade is tied to the auto sector, as Canada manufacturers produce parts essential for the production of vehicles. Traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, for example, accounts for a quarter of all cross-border trade between the U.S. ![]() and Canada, weakening supply chains already hurt by the pandemic. The blockades have already inflicted significant economic damage on both the U.S. Protestors remain in Ottawa, with an estimated 360 vehicles still blockading the city's downtown district. The larger protest movement seems to be abating, however, and all border crossings are expected to be clear as of Thursday. ![]() The Ontario provincial government also declared emergency measures last week, including six-figure fines and jail time for blocking traffic. The move followed encouragement last week from the Biden administration for Canada to use its federal powers to ease the disruption. as well as other border crossings near Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota.Ī day after the Ambassador Bridge reopened on Sunday, Trudeau invoked temporary emergency powers allowing his federal government to ban public assembly in certain locations, and freeze the bank accounts of protestors that threaten national security. The protest grew into a noisy, horn-honking encampment totaling 4,000 trucks, which aggravated local residents and forced businesses to temporarily close.īlockades were also formed on the Ambassador Bridge on the Canadian border with Detroit - a crucial trade corridor between Canada and the U.S. To protest the mandate, a few hundred truckers driving heavy-duty trucks and pickup trucks descended upon Ottawa, essentially shutting down the downtown core. In November, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau's government announced that, to avoid a 14-day quarantine, all truck drivers - both Americans and Canadians - would need to be double vaccinated against Covid-19 by Jan.
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