As Canadian truckers block the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, in protest of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) called on Canadian authorities to take “necessary and appropriate steps.”
“My message is simple: reopen traffic on the bridge,” the governor said in a statement. “In Michigan, our economy continues to grow because of our hardworking people and innovative small businesses. Now, that momentum is at risk. Commercial traffic is at a standstill at the Ambassador Bridge and heavily backed up at the Blue Water Bridge.”
My message is simple: reopen traffic on the bridge. pic.twitter.com/EwDEn17sRA
— Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) February 10, 2022
Whitmer noted that “automotive, manufacturing, and agriculture businesses” are impacted by the closure. “It’s hitting paychecks and production lines. That is unacceptable.”
“It is imperative that Canadian local, provincial, and national governments de-escalate this economic blockade. They must take all necessary and appropriate steps to immediately and safely reopen traffic so we can continue growing our economy, supporting good-paying jobs, and lowering costs for families,” she concluded.
Canadian truckers have flooded Ottawa for the past several days, paralyzing the capital city in an attempt to reverse COVID-19 policies. Earlier this week, four Canadian provinces — Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island — announced plans to eliminate or roll back some or all measures.
In 2020, however, Whitmer imposed one of the most aggressive lockdown regimes in the United States. She was among the four Democratic governors who required nursing homes to admit patients testing positive for COVID-19, despite the elderly being among the most susceptible to the virus. Nevertheless, the Biden administration announced last summer that it would not investigate Whitmer for the thousands of deaths that may have occurred as a result.
Ahead of Memorial Day 2020, Whitmer announced that some lockdown restrictions would be lifted before the holiday — allowing residents to visit parks and lakes once again. Whitmer warned: “If you don’t live in these regions … think long and hard before you take a trip into them.”
Tad Dowker, a marina owner, claimed three days later that Whitmer’s husband, Marc Mallory, had called to ask if the marina could put their boat into the water before Memorial Day.
“This morning, I was out working when the office called me, there was a gentleman on hold who wanted his boat in the water before the weekend. Being Memorial weekend and the fact that we started working three weeks late means there is no chance this is going to happen,” Dowker wrote on Facebook. “Well our office personnel had explained this to the man and he replied, ‘I am the husband to the governor, will this make a difference?’”
More recently, Whitmer was seen maskless at a crowded cocktail bar in Washington, D.C., before pulling out of campaigning for former Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. According to footage reviewed by The Washington Free Beacon, Whitmer was without food or drink in the standing room area of Vue — a rooftop bar on the 11th floor of the Hotel Washington — on October 22.