Blockade protesters leave Emerson border with police escort
With a police escort, protesters who had been blocking access to the Emerson border crossing drove away together in a convoy, officially ending the six-day blockade.
Mounties led the trucks and farm equipment away from the border Wednesday morning to make sure everything was done in a safe manner.
Sgt. Paul Manaigre with Manitoba RCMP said negotiators reached an agreement with protest organizers to end the standoff—part of that deal included an assurance there would be no charges or arrests against those at the border.
“That was part of the dialogue and the communication back and forth,” said Manaigre. “They wanted to get their message across which I believe they have.”
The anti-mandate blockade prevented traffic from crossing the border, with the exception of livestock trucks and emergency vehicles. An hour before the blockade ended, a small lineup of trucks and passenger vehicles sat idling. Travellers waited, hoping the highway was indeed reopening.
Roger Ramsay was heading to Minnesota to see his son for the first time in three years.
“Right now I’m wondering would it be better to go to Gretna and go across there or sit it out?” said Ramsay, who was among those waiting for the blockade to end.
The wait was worth it.
The protesters left on time, snow plows came in to clear the highway immediately so traffic could flow over the border again.
There is relief in Emerson the blockade is finally over.
“I’m very happy about it. I wasn’t happy in the first place when the blockade happened,” said Thomas Parr, a resident of Emerson.
But with that relief, some want to know why this took nearly a week to resolve.
“That was totally illegal, but yet they did nothing about it,” said Parr.
The RCMP is defending its approach, saying Mounties did not want to rush in.
“We had to take our time,” Manaigre said. “It absolutely would have made no sense just going in, perhaps making arrests and issuing tickets. We could have perhaps had others take their place.”
While traffic is once again flowing at the Emerson border crossing, there is a concern it could take some time to get back to business as usual. Ottawa estimates the blockade impacted $73 million a day in trade.
Ron Koslowsky, the vice president of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said the repercussions of the blockade will create problems for weeks to come.
“In terms of rebalancing the whole supply chain, it will take time to get all the supplies that we need, and it will increase our costs, and it will damage our reputation," he said.
Though he is applauding the end of the blockade, Koslowsky is calling on all levels of government to have solutions in place to prevent something like this in the future.
RCMP said officers are staying in the area to make sure the border remains open.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.