As an anti-COVID mandate protest continues to snarl cross-border traffic at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Chatham-Kent’s mayor is offering assistance wherever possible.
Mayor Darrin Canniff said the municipality has been in contact with officials in Windsor to provide any support they may need. He said the Chatham-Kent Police Service is already assisting officers in the border city to manage the ongoing situation at the border.
A blockade of protestors has been in place on Huron Church Road leading to the Ambassador Bridge since Monday. While commercial traffic has more recently been able to move across the border from Windsor to Detroit, traffic coming into Canada remains blocked off.
Many groups and business associations have expressed concerns that the ongoing blockade could stall economic activity and cause supply chain issues.
Canniff said CK’s Economic Development department has been contacting local businesses that may already be feeling the effects of the border blockade.
“If businesses are being shut down because of supply chain issues, it will impact us eventually. It will impact all of us,” said Canniff. “I would like to see, like many people, the flow of goods continue unfettered through the border.”
Chatham-Kent’s mayor also said he has reached out to Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton to discuss what more can be done provincially to resolve the issue.
“I know the province is doing everything they can because, certainly, the long-term ramifications of this, if it keeps going, there will be significant impacts to the economy,” said Canniff.
