TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th February, 2022) The Canadian government has approved a request for additional law enforcement personnel at the US-Canada border crossing in Coutts, Alberta, one of the hotbeds of the trucker protest that swept the nation, Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino said on Tuesday.
"We would be approving a request for additional (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) RCMP resources in the province," Mendicino told a news conference, following a conversation with Alberta Premier Jason Kenney.
The Coutts port of entry - situated between the Canadian province of Alberta and the US state of Montana - has been the site of traffic disruptions perpetrated by protesters demanding an end to COVID-19 vaccine mandates for close to two weeks. Protesters again blocked the point of entry earlier in the day, according to an RCMP statement, but the crossing has since reopened.
Mendicino noted that the blockade has inflicted a significant cost on the Canadian economy and the Federal government is working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
The wave of protests across Canada began in January, with thousands of truckers and other demonstrators converging upon Ottawa to express strong opposition to vaccine mandates for truckers crossing the US-Canada border. The protest has since evolved into an anti-government demonstration, with various groups uniting in opposition of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
