CNN)Access to three border crossings in Michigan, North Dakota and Montana have been cut off by truckers and like-minded demonstrators on the Canadian side of the border who are protesting Covid-related restrictions.

To address the ongoing issue, the Canadian government announced Thursday it would send additional officers and resources to protests throughout the country.

"The plan is to make sure police have all the resources they need," said Marco Mendicino, the public safety minister. "Our top priority is to make sure that these illegal blockades end."

For two weeks now, the trucks have blockaded the downtown core of Ottawa, the capital of Canada. In recent days, demonstrators have parked their bulky vehicles in the middle of critical roadways between Canada and the US.

Thursday marked the fourth day protesters impeded access to the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor – the busiest international crossing in North America. Second, a mix of semi-trailers and farm equipment shut down the border crossing connecting Emerson, Manitoba, and Pembina, North Dakota, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba. And third, the Coutts access point between Alberta and Montana has also been blocked.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/10/americas/canada-trucker-protests-covid-thursday/index.html

Ottawa police have said "volatile" and "determined" demonstrators remain in Canada's capital after nearly two weeks of a trucker-led anti-vaccine mandate protest.

Ottawa is under a state of emergency after protesters blockaded the city centre with trucks and cars.

Police have seized thousands of litres of fuel in recent days.

Up to 25% of the vehicles contain children who could be at risk during operations, police said on Tuesday.

The so-called Freedom Convoy began on 9 January in western Canada, as truckers protested against a rule that requires them to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to cross the US-Canada border. The demonstrations have morphed to include anger at Covid restrictions and at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government generally.

Though the rally has been mostly peaceful, police have expressed concern about extremist rhetoric coming from far-right groups among the protesters. As well as reported racial and homophobic abuse, one individual danced on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial.

Nearly 80 criminal investigations have been opened in relation to the protests, including for alleged hate crimes and property damage. Some two dozen people have been arrested.

https://news.yahoo.com/canada-truckers-protest-ambassador-bridge-163051655.html

Article June 2021

Canada has officially named the US rightwing militia group Three Percenters as a terrorist entity alongside Isis and al-Qaida, saying it had an active presence in Canada and could threaten national security.

Earlier this month US prosecutors obtained a conspiracy indictment against six men associated with the Three Percenters, the latest in a series of such charges arising from the 6 January attack at the Capitol by Donald Trump’s supporters.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/25/canada-three-percenters-militia-group-terror-list

The RCMP has seized more than a dozen firearms, body armour and “a significant amount” of ammunition in British Columbia following an investigation into a video of a self-described militia.

Landon Preik, a 38-year-old resident of Chilliwack, B.C., faces five counts of careless use or storage of a firearm, and one count of possession of a prohibited weapon.

The charges stemmed from an investigation that began on Sept. 14 “as a result of several videos posted to social media, in the interest of public safety,” the RCMP said in a statement.

“The videos allegedly depicted masked individuals identifying themselves as militia, anti-establishment messaging and the display of multiple firearms.”

https://globalnews.ca/news/8591403/rcmp-seize-firearms-in-b-c-following-probe-into-video-by-self-described-militia/

June 2017

https://www.vice.com/en/article/new9wd/the-birth-of-canadas-armed-anti-islamic-patriot-group

In the two weeks that protesters have taken over the streets of Ottawa, Canada’s capital city, a fringe movement by some truckers ostensibly against covid restrictions has exploded into a global spectacle. On the ground, the movement reflects the northern spread of American right-wing ideology across the border. But the spectacle is very real, causing some residents to leave their homes and overwhelming downtown businesses and organizations.

The self-described Freedom Convoy has come to encompass broader anti-government views, including far-right viewpoints. Just over 400 trucks remain in downtown Ottawa, and protesters now demand more than an end to vaccine mandates. Some now call for a full end to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government — and some want to form their own.

Hate symbols — including Nazi swastikas — have appeared, and local residents have reported being harassed and assaulted by protesters. A youth services provider closed a downtown drop-in shelter. An ice cream shop closed temporarily, saying its staff was being harassed for wearing masks. Police are investigating an alleged attempted arson of a residential building.

https://www.grid.news/story/misinformation/2022/02/10/the-canadian-trucker-spectacle-is-an-american-export/