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Canada police in standoff with protesters blocking bridge to U.S

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A standoff between Canadian police and protesters blocking a key bridge to the United States continued on Saturday, more than seven hours after authorities moved in seeking to end the blockade of the important trade corridor.

Demonstrators opposing the government’s strict pandemic restrictions have occupied the Ambassador Bridge for the fifth straight day, snarling international trade and prompting President Joe Biden to call for an end to the siege. But there was still no sign when traffic would resume.

While police have successfully pushed back protesters from the foot of the Ambassador Bridge, more people were streaming into the area and the operation appeared to have stalled.

As the afternoon dragged on, some Canadians questioned what was behind the delay, given the order issued by a court on Friday to end the blockade and the imposition of a state of emergency declared by Ontario authorities.

“It would essentially send a message that the state is not able to retain control, where it’s attempted to do so,” Michael Kempa, an associate professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa, told CBC News.

“The longer this drags on, the longer people have the idea that what they are doing is not an illegal protest,” he said.

The Ambassador Bridge is North America’s busiest land border crossing. Since Monday, protesters in trucks, cars and vans have blocked traffic in both directions, choking the supply chain for Detroit’s carmakers.

The “Freedom Convoy” protests, started in the capital Ottawa by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers, entered its 16th day on Saturday. It has morphed into a wider protest against COVID-19 curbs, with people joining in with smaller vehicles, including cars, vans and pick-up trucks.

Early on Saturday, Windsor Police urged demonstrators to act lawfully and peacefully. Officers in black uniforms with yellow vests moved behind the demonstrators’ vehicles and, accompanied by police cruisers, slowly advanced on the protesters, pushing them back from the bridge entrance.

The number of demonstrators had thinned to roughly two dozen early on Saturday from about 200 on Friday night.

“We are opening up this intersection to traffic. If you fail to comply with our instructions you will be arrested,” police told the crowd via a loudspeaker.

Protesters moved back in a noisy but peaceful retreat, dismantling tents and barbecues. But since then, police have not progressed, witnesses said.

Ottawa Police said they were waiting for reinforcements to end the “unlawful occupation” in the capital. Demonstrators there “exhibited aggressive behavior towards law enforcement” and tore down a fence that had been erected around the National War Memorial.

Protests have spread to three border points: the Ambassador Bridge, strangling trade between the two countries, and two smaller crossings in Alberta and Manitoba.

Canadian police have said the protests have been partly funded by U.S. supporters and Ontario froze funds donated via one U.S. platform, GiveSendGo, on Thursday.

Toronto-Dominion Bank has frozen two personal bank accounts into which C$1.4 million ($1.1 million) had been deposited in support of the protesters.

COPYCAT PROTESTS

The protests have inspired similar convoys and plans in the United States, France, New Zealand and Australia.

In Paris, French police fired tear gas at demonstrators on the Champs Elysees avenue on Saturday shortly after a convoy carrying protesters against COVID-19 restrictions made it into the capital.

In Canada’s financial capital Toronto, police blocked main roads leading to the central business district, ahead of a planned protest on Saturday. A convoy of motorists in the United States is planning to head to the waterfront in Port Huron, Michigan, in support of protesters in Canada.

Another U.S. group said two separate vehicle convoys will converge this weekend at the Peace Bridge, another U.S.-Canadian border crossing in Buffalo, New York.

Ford, the second-largest U.S. automaker, General Motors and Toyota Motor Co all have announced production cuts. Companies have diverted cargo to stem losses amid production cuts.

The estimated loss from the blockades just to the automobile industry could be as high as $700 million, based on IHS Markit’s data, which puts the daily flow in vehicles and parts at $141.1 million day in 2021.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under pressure from opposition party leaders to intervene. Trudeau is scheduled to chair a meeting of his top advisors on Saturday, called the Incident Response Group, to discuss the situation.

 

(Reporting by Kayla Tarnowski and Carlos Osorio in Windsor; Writing by Denny Thomas; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Amran Abocar and Daniel Wallis)

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RCMP end latest N.B. search regarding teenage girl who went missing in 2021

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BATHURST, N.B. – RCMP in New Brunswick say a weekend ground search for evidence related to the disappearance of a teenage girl in 2021 didn’t reveal any new information.

In an emailed statement, the RCMP said 20 people participated in the search for evidence in the case of Madison Roy-Boudreau of Bathurst.

The release said the search occurred in the Middle River area, just south of the girl’s hometown.

Police have said the 14-year-old’s disappearance is being treated as a homicide investigation.

The RCMP said the search “did not reveal any new information regarding the circumstances of her disappearance.”

There are no plans for another search until police receive a tip or a lead pointing to a new search area.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Man Tasered after trespassing in Victoria school, forcing lockdown

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VICTORIA – A middle school in Victoria was forced into a lockdown after a man entered the building without permission, and police say they had to use a stun gun to make an arrest.

Victoria police say officers received multiple calls around noon on Monday of an unknown male entering Central Middle School, leading staff to set off emergency procedures that put the building under lockdown.

Police say its emergency response team arrived within minutes and found the suspect, who “appeared to be in a drug-induced state,” in the school’s library.

A statement from police says the suspect resisted arrest, and officers had to use a Taser to subdue the man.

He’s being held by police and has been assessed by emergency medical staff.

Police say the man was not armed and there were no continuing safety concerns for students and staff following the arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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B.C. Greens’ ex- leader Weaver thinks minority deal with NDP less likely than in 2017

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VANCOUVER – Former B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver knows what it’s like to form a minority government with the NDP, but says such a deal to create the province’s next administration is less likely this time than seven years ago.

Weaver struck a power-sharing agreement that resulted in John Horgan’s NDP minority government in 2017, but said in an interview Monday there is now more animosity between the two parties.

Neither the NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives secured a majority in Saturday’s election, raising the prospect of a minority NDP government if Leader David Eby can get the support of two Green legislators.

Manual recounts in two ridings could also play an important role in the outcome, which will not be known for about a week.

Weaver, who is no longer a member of the Greens, endorsed a Conservative candidate in his home riding.

He said Eby would be in a better position to negotiate if Furstenau, who lost her seat, stepped aside as party leader.

“I think Mr. Eby would be able to have fresh discussions with fresh new faces around the table, (after) four years of political sniping … between Sonia and the NDP in the B.C. legislature,” he said.

He said Furstenau’s loss put the two elected Greens in an awkward position because parties “need the leader in the legislature.”

Furstenau could resign as leader or one of the elected Greens could step down and let her run in a byelection in their riding, he said.

“They need to resolve that issue sooner rather than later,” he said.

The Green victories went to Rob Botterell in Saanich North and the Islands and Jeremy Valeriote in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.

Neither Botterell nor Valeriote have held seats in the legislature before, Weaver noted.

“It’s not like in 2017 when, you know, I had been in the (legislature) for four years already,” Weaver said, adding that “the learning curve is steep.”

Sanjay Jeram, chair of undergraduate studies in political science at Simon Fraser University, said he doesn’t think it’ll be an “easygoing relationship between (the NDP and Greens) this time around.”

“I don’t know if Eby and Furstenau have the same relationship — or the potential to have the same relationship — as Horgan and Weaver did,” he said. “I think their demands will be a little more strict and it’ll be a little more of a cold alliance than it was in 2017 if they do form an alliance.”

Horgan and Weaver shook hands on a confidence-and-supply agreement before attending a rugby match, where they were spotted sitting together before the deal became public knowledge.

Eby said in his election-night speech that he had already reached out to Furstenau and suggested common “progressive values” between their parties.

Furstenau said in her concession speech that her party was poised to play a “pivotal role” in the legislature.

Botterell said in an election-night interview that he was “totally supportive of Sonia” and he would “do everything I can to support her and the path forward that she chooses to take because that’s her decision.”

The Green Party of Canada issued a news release Monday, congratulating the candidates on their victories, noting Valeriote’s win is the first time that a Green MLA has been elected outside of Vancouver Island.

“Now, like all British Columbians we await the final seat count to know which party will have the best chance to form government. Let’s hope that the Green caucus has a pivotal role,” the release said, echoing Furstenau’s turn of phrase.

The final results of the election won’t be known until at least next week.

Elections BC says manual recounts will be held on Oct. 26 to 28 in two ridings where NDP candidates led B.C. Conservatives by fewer than 100 votes after the initial count ended on Sunday.

The outcomes in Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat could determine who forms government.

The election’s initial results have the NDP elected or leading in 46 ridings, and the B.C. Conservatives in 45, both short of the 47 majority mark in B.C.’s 93-seat legislature.

If the Conservatives win both of the recount ridings and win all other ridings where they lead, Rustad will win with a one-seat majority.

If the NDP holds onto at least one of the ridings where there are recounts, wins the other races it leads, and strikes a deal with the Greens, they would have enough numbers to form a minority government.

But another election could also be on the cards, since the winner will have to nominate a Speaker, reducing the government’s numbers in the legislature by one vote.

Elections BC says it will also be counting about 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots from Oct. 26 to 28.

The NDP went into the election with 55 ridings, representing a comfortable majority in what was then an 87-seat legislature.

Jeram, with Simon Fraser University, said though the counts aren’t finalized, the Conservatives were the big winners in the election.

“They weren’t really a not much of a formal party until not that long ago, and to go from two per cent of the vote to winning 45 or more seats in the B.C. provincial election is just incredible,” he said in an interview Monday.

Jeram said people had expected Eby to call an election after he took over from John Horgan in 2022, and if he had, he doesn’t think there would have been the same result.

He said the B.C. Conservative’s popularity grew as a result of the decision of the BC Liberals to rebrand as BC United and later drop out.

“Had Eby called an election before that really shook out, and maybe especially before (Pierre) Poilievre, kind of really had the wind in his sails and started to grow, I think he could have won the majority for sure.”

He said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the election, saying polls were fairly accurate.

“Ultimately, it really was a result that we saw coming for a while, since the moment that BC United withdrew and put their support behind the conservatives, I think this was the outcome that was expected.”

— With files from Darryl Greer

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.



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