MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Biden and Trudeau slammed after US asks Canada to use federal powers to end protests

Biden, who is regularly briefed on the Canadian protests, urged Trudeau in a series of bilateral meetings to push harder against the demonstrations

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were slammed on social media after reports emerged that the US government was pressuring Canada to use its federal powers to put an end to Freedom Convoy demonstrations held by truckers against Covid-19 restrictions.

A blockade halting traffic at the Ambassador Bridge crossing connecting Windsor, Ontario to Detroit entered its 5th day on Friday, February 11. Several such blockades have disrupted logistics between the two countries and threatened to shut down production at US auto plants. Biden, who is regularly briefed on the Canadian protests, reportedly urged Trudeau in a series of bilateral meetings to push harder against the truckers. Meanwhile, an Ontario court has blocked protesters from accessing online donations totaling more than $8 million via the fundraising platform GiveSendGo. Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared in a statement that it "binds any and all parties with possession or control over these donations."

RELATED ARTICLES

Cops rough up and arrest 78-yr-old great grandfather who HONKED in support of Freedom Convoy

Trump claimed Justin Trudeau's mother 'f**ked all of the Rolling Stones', says book

A White House official said that the US secretaries of Homeland Security and Transportation spoke to their Canadian counterparts on Thursday, February 10, "urging them to use federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border and offering the full support of our Homeland Security and Transportation departments." The official added, "We are principally focused on resolving the blockage at the Ambassador Bridge as well as other ports of entry."

The span linking Windsor with Detroit is still closed to most traffic, albeit other ports and border crossings are open nearby. Windsor authorities are pooling resources from other police jurisdictions "for the purpose of helping support a peaceful resolution," they revealed on Thursday evening. "[If] the protesters don't leave, there will have to be a path forward. If that means physically removing them, that means physically removing them, and we're prepared to do that," Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told CNN.

"[While] it may be gratifying for someone to see the forced removal of the demonstrators, such action may inflame the situation and certainly cause more folks to come here and add to the protest, and we don't want to risk additional conflict," he added.

It's worth noting that the widespread demonstrations have proven to be a touchy issue for liberal PM Trudeau, who is facing calls to submit to the protesters' demands such as ending the federal vaccine mandate on truckers entering Canada. Candice Bergen, the Conservative opposition's interim leader, has lauded the truckers as "passionate, patriotic and peaceful" and echoed their calls to end federal Covid mandates.

Both Biden and Trudeau were excoriated on social media after reports of US pressure to clamp down the protests emerged.

"Canadians who constantly worry they're bullied by America are going to love Biden encouraging Trudeau to get tough on the truckers and "offering the full support of the Department of Homeland Security," editor Kelly Jane Torrance tweeted.

Radio host Austin Pierce opened a poll on who was worse, Justin Trudeau or Joe Biden. Conservative activist Louis J Marinelli responded saying, "You have to choose Trudeau, because Trudeau knows what he's doing and he's doing it intentionally. Biden doesn't know what planet he's on. He's off his rocker."

"@POTUS's handlers are terrified of the #FreedomConvoy assembling in the US. The one thing I know for certain is that it's coming across the border. #HonkHonk," one Twitter user offered.
 
"The freedom convoy in Canada is exposing the true beliefs that Trudeau, Biden, politicians, the media have about the working and middle class. They are elite and arrogant and they see us as stupid, ignorant, and very much beneath them," another chimed in.