Freedom Convoy truckers are still on the US-Canada Ambassador Bridge - in defiance of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's 7pm and then midnight deadlines to clear the road on Friday.
Trudeau had said that 'everything is on the table' to end the protest and Ottawa police were on the scene with threats to forcibly remove the truckers who have been blocking the busy bridge for days. Officers had also handed out flyers warning those refusing to retreat that they risked CA $100,000 fines ($78,000) and the permanent loss of their commercial driving license.
But the big showdown never came as police declined to move in on the hundreds of protesters milling around on the comparatively mild 38 degrees Fahrenheit evening. Police patrol cars were parked with their lights flashing, but few officers were visible.
Earlier on Friday, a Canadian court issued the injunction to end the blockade at the key bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario with Detroit. Ontario Superior Court Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz granted the injunction on Friday evening, which will last for 10 days and means that blocking the bridge is unlawful.
Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, said his cabinet will enact orders to make it illegal to block borders and highways and will impose CA $100,000 ($78,000) fines and prison terms for those who defy them.
Trudeau claimed that the protest is being fueled by political activists in the United States, and said that more than 50 percent of donations to campaigns to support the protesters came from the U.S., which he referred to as 'foreign financing' of the protests.
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