Idle No More plans Ambassador Bridge protest

WINDSOR, Ontario—If you plan on moving goods between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan via the Ambassador Bridge on Wednesday, you may want to rethink those plans.

The Windsor Police Service has issued a notice that Idle No More, the First Nations protest movement, has planned a peaceful demonstration at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge on January 16.

According to Sergeant Matthew D’Asti, public information officer in the Windsor Police corporate communications unit, the protesters will travel down west on Highway 401 toward Windsor and will arrive in the city in the morning. At 11:00AM the group will start walking from the intersection of Huron Church Road and Tecumseh Road West and move north towards the Ambassador Bridge. They will gather near the train tracks in the area of College Avenue. Then they will head back to Tecumseh Road and depart.

D’Asti says the protest is expected to conclude by 2:00PM but even at that point “we will still be dealing with a lot of backed-up traffic” so drivers and travelers should expect delays at the border crossing.

He said that anybody planning to cross into the US should on Wednesday would be well advised to check with local media sources for reports about traffic delays or follow social media websites (including the Windsor Police’s Twitter and Facebook sites) that will provide updates about the protest and how it is affecting the traffic flow in the area.

D’Asti also suggested that it might be a good idea to look at alternative routes to the US.

Currently there is no indication of any protests being planned for the Blue Water Bridge in Point Edward, Ontario.