UPDATED, Jan. 31 — A major supply chain corridor between Alberta and the U.S. remained blockaded through into Sunday evening by vehicles in protest of mandates requiring foreign truckers entering Canada and the U.S. to be vaccinated.
The protest on Highway 4 at the Coutts, Alta. border crossing, about 100 km southeast of Lethbridge, began Saturday in tandem with a major protest in Ottawa concerning current federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border truckers.
News reports late Sunday afternoon said the border crossing remained blocked at Coutts and motorists needing to cross were being diverted to another Alberta/Montana crossing at Carway, Alta., about 130 km west.
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The Carway crossing, however, is usually open only from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. MT, while the Coutts crossing is usually open to traffic 24/7.
As of 1:05 a.m. MT on Monday, the Canada Border Services Agency’s web page for current border wait times listed the crossing at Coutts as experiencing “no delay” for either commercial trucks or other motorists. As of 12:01 p.m. MT Monday, however, the same page listed the wait time at Coutts as “7 hours” for both commercial and non-commercial travel.
Canada’s rules, in place since Jan. 15, require any Canadian truckers and other essential workers who are unvaccinated against COVID-19 and returning to Canada to follow the same quarantine protocols as other unvaccinated Canadians returning to Canada. Unvaccinated foreign truckers attempting to enter Canada would be turned away.
The rule for unvaccinated Canadian truckers re-entering Canada was rendered a moot point effective Jan. 22, however, as the U.S. government imposed the same vaccination requirement for foreign truckers and other essential workers entering the U.S.
Alberta RCMP on Sunday afternoon asked motorists to “continue to stay away” from Highway 4 south of Lethbridge to the Coutts border crossing as “traffic continues to remain immobilized in both the (northbound and southbound) directions. At this time, no motor vehicles are able to access the border for entry/re-entry.”
In a separate statement later Sunday afternoon, RCMP said they’re “working with truck drivers who are attempting to disengage from this event so that they are able to do so; however, current conditions have traffic immobilized.”
When an event becomes “unlawful,” RCMP added, “we utilize a measured approach, which ultimately includes enforcement. This event is unlawful and we are asking those who are involved to clear the area.”
Everyone has a right to peaceful freedom of expression, the Mounties added, but “the general public, local residents and businesses also have the right to a safe environment and freedom of movement.”
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney echoed the RCMP’s concerns in a separate statement Sunday, calling on protestors on Highway 4 to end their blockade “immediately” and “not to create road hazards which could lead to accidents or unsafe conditions for other drivers.”
The blockade, he said, violated the provincial Traffic Safety Act and was causing “significant inconvenience” for other drivers, but also “could dangerously impede the movement of emergency service vehicles.”
“While I respect everyone’s right to protest peacefully, we need the blockaders to disperse as quickly as possible,” provincial Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney said in a separate statement Sunday.
“Not having a dedicated route in or out of the area is a safety hazard and is preventing commercial truckers from delivering goods that support our supply chain.”
For example, CBC on Sunday quoted one vaccinated long-haul trucker as saying he was taking meat from the JBS slaughter plant at Brooks, Alta. across to Portland, Oregon, but was halted by the blockade and diverted to wait at nearby Milk River, Alta.
The Canadian Meat Council, which represents the meatpacking sector, took to Twitter Monday afternoon to report “over 150 loads of Canadian beef stuck” at the Coutts crossing. “Our members are going to have to slow down production if this keeps up.”
“The blockade of emergency vehicles to Albertans in need, and the disruption in the flow of vital goods through our major transportation corridor, is both dangerous and disgraceful. It puts lives at risk, hurts our economy, and hurts families,” Rachel Notley, leader of Alberta’s opposition New Democrats, said in a separate statement earlier Sunday.
“To put it bluntly, a small group first claiming to be concerned about the possibility of grocery shortages have now most assuredly caused them.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network
UPDATE, Jan. 31 — Article updated to include estimated border wait times at Monday noon.
