Trudeau says everything on the table to end blockade; Ontario declares state of emergency

OTTAWA _ Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says everything is on the table to bring illegal blockades to an end _ but he can't say when that will happen because of fears of violence.

Trudeau says the people still illegally blocking streets in Ottawa and border crossings to the United States must go home or face increasingly severe consequences that could ruin their lives.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki says President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke by phone today about the blockades during a sidebar from a larger call with various world leaders about the situation in Ukraine.

Psaki says the two leaders agreed that the actions of the individuals who are obstructing travel and commerce between the two countries are having significant direct impacts on citizens' lives and livelihoods.

She says Biden expressed his concern that U.S. companies and workers are experiencing serious effects, including slowdowns in production, shortened work hours and plant closures.

Psaki says Trudeau promised quick action in enforcing the law.

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he is declaring a state of emergency so the province can hike fines and introduce jail time for people refusing to leave the blockades.

That move comes two weeks after the first big rigs began snarling streets in downtown Ottawa and amid some clear tensions between the federal and provincial governments about who is responsible for solving the crisis.

Ontario Transport Minister Caroline Mulroney says on Twitter that the province acted because the federal government wouldn't.

Ontario meanwhile is refusing to participate in daily meetings the federal government set up with the city of Ottawa and provincial government this week in a bid to find solutions to the impasse.

Protestors identifying themselves as part of the Freedom Convoy 2022 on Feb. 7 began blocking access to the international span that connects to Detroit. They, along with like-minded demonstrators currently occupying pockets of Ottawa, are demanding anything from the end of vaccine mandates to the ousting of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

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.

The bridge remained closed Friday morning despite media reports that protestors had agreed to open one lane of southbound traffic from Detroit. 

"I can tell you that the Bridge is still closed. Protesters are still present and thus safety is our number priority. Even if you heard that there is a lane open doesn’t mean traffic is flowing," a Windsor Police Service spokeswoman told Automotive News Canada in an email.

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.

"To those who have attempted to disrupt our way of life by targeting our lifeline for food, fuel and goods across our borders, to those trying to force a political agenda through disruption, intimidation and chaos, my message to you is this - your right to make a political statement does not outweigh the right of hundreds of thousands of workers to earn their living," Ford said at a news conference.

"It does not outweigh our right to get food across our borders. Your right to make a political statement does not outweigh the rights of one million people in Ottawa to live peacefully, free of harassment and chaos in their own homes."

Ford also says public health restrictions in response to COVID-19 have helped protect hospitals from collapse and saved many lives, but notes that now the chief medical officer of health is working on a plan to end the vaccine certificate system.

In a request for a court injunction to end the blockade, the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association says the demonstrators had cost Canada’s auto industry $600 million through Thursday morning. 

The hearing is open to the public via Zoom.