The Emerson, Manitoba Canadian port of entry. (@CANBORDER / TWITTER)
WINNIPEG — A protest south of Winnipeg has shut down Manitoba’s main border crossing with the United States.
The Emerson port of entry is the latest target of anti-vaccine and anti-mask protestors, who have blocked the highway with semi-trailer trucks, farm equipment and other vehicles.
Manitoba RCMP remain on the scene and advise motorists to avoid the area.
The protest is the latest in the province since an occupation of Broadway and Memorial Boulevard in Winnipeg began on February 4 near the Manitoba legislature.
A few dozen rigs were blocking traffic in both directions, only allowing livestock trucks through, said David Carlson, reeve of the Emerson-Franklin rural municipality.
“This is not a slow-roll protest. Things are completely blocked right now,” Carlson said.
The blockade could affect emergency response times, Carlson said, because municipalities on both sides of the border area share duties. The road into Emerson from Highway 75, just north of the border, remained open.
Ron Koslowsky with the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters association said the blockade could cripple the two-way flow of supplies and export goods at the busy crossing.
He called for an end to all border protests.
“It doesn’t matter what the cause is. We can’t let people hold the country and the economy, and the delivery of critical things across the border, at ransom,” Koslowsky said.
Another protest against COVID-19 restrictions was entering its seventh day in Winnipeg. More than a dozen large vehicles blaring their horns, were parked outside the main entrance to the legislature grounds. One block of a nearby street was blocked off, although traffic in the rest of the area was flowing.
Winnipeg city council held a special meeting to discuss ways to deal with the protest. Councillors voted to explore options, including a court injunction.
“Protests are permissible. What isn’t acceptable … is a protest that is an occupation on public streets,” Mayor Brian Bowman said.
A demonstration involving a large number of vehicles & farm equipment is blocking the Emerson Port of Entry. No traffic is getting through either northbound or southbound. The Port of Entry is shut down. Please avoid the area. #rcmpmb is on scene. pic.twitter.com/SpKzwzMfKZ
— RCMP Manitoba (@rcmpmb) February 10, 2022
— With files from The Canadian Press
