Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is declaring a state of emergency in response to ongoing blockades in Ottawa and Windsor, Ontario.He says he will enact orders making it “crystal clear” that it is illegal and punishable to block and impede the movement of goods, people and services along critical infrastructure.Ford says that includes protecting international border crossings, 400-series highways, airports, ports, bridges and railways.
He says fines for non-compliance will be up to $100,000 and up to a year imprisonment.A protest against COVID-19 measures has immobilized Ottawa’s downtown core for nearly two weeks while another on the Windsor side of the Ambassador Bridge has blocked Canada-bound vehicles from using the border crossing for days.Ford says the past two years have not been easy and frustrations have reached a boiling point for many Canadians, but he said, the illegal occupations in Ottawa and at the Ambassador Bridge need to end.
