OTTAWA: The busiest land crossing from the United States to Canada remained shut on Tuesday, Canada’s border agency said, after Canadian truckers blocked lanes on Monday to protest their government’s pandemic control measures.

Drivers demanding an end to federal Covid-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border traffic began blocking the streets of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, on Jan 28. Since Sunday night, police have started slowly taking back control, seizing thousands of litres of fuel and removing an oil tanker truck.

Trucks started blocking traffic at the Ambassador Bridge, located between Lake Erie and Lake Huron, late on Monday. Canada’s Border Services Agency said on Tuesday that the bridge was closed, but police later tweeted that US-bound lanes were now open. The owner of the bridge, the Detroit International Bridge Co, said international commerce on the bridge needed to resume.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2022