Niagara officials are making plans for how to deal with anticipated “freedom” convoys to the Peace Bridge Saturday without knowing how many protesters will actually arrive.
Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop said police, bridge officials and others have a basic plan but won’t know how many resources to deploy until that time.
He said the objective is to keep traffic flowing within the town and at the international bridge.
“We have no idea how many will show up,” Redekop said Thursday. “So the human resources that will be necessary and the extent of involvement of all the various parties is somewhat dependent upon the numbers and how the convoy and those attached to it conduct their protest.”
Social media feeds have been promoting convoys to the Peace Bridge Saturday on both sides of the border in Fort Erie and Buffalo, NY
A Canadian side convoy promoted on Facebook by Canada Unity, one of the group’s behind the Ottawa protests, is gathering in Stoney Creek and Niagara-on-the-Lake Saturday morning before heading to the bridge.
Officials don’t know if protesters will stay on the sidelines or disrupt the flow of traffic on the bridge in the wake of a blockade at the Ambassador Bridge that started Monday. That span between Windsor and Detroit continued to be blocked by protesters Thursday and trucks were being diverted two hours away to Sarnia.
Redekop said his town has been in continuous contact with regional police, Niagara Parks and its police service, Niagara Region, the town’s departments including fire services, as well as provincial and federal representatives to talk about plans, along with the bridge’s general manager.
“At this stage of the game, to some extent, we’re trying to monitor the situation,” Redekop said.
“The underlying premise is that people have the right to protest, on the one hand. On the other hand, people have the right to live in their homes, they have the right to conduct businesses if they have businesses and they have the right to move around their community without being obstructed, particularly if there are emergency situations that arise.”
Nashville resident Pennie Fay of the “Convoy to Save America” said the group is sending two convoys to the Peace Bridge from New York and Tennessee, with stops along the way, but they have no intention of protesting on the bridge.
She said they’re bringing supplies to support Canadian truckers in Ottawa and will send someone across the border who’s vaccinated with a passport to hand off the supplies on the Canadian side.
“They’re the first to do this, they arranged it, they did the logistics, they figured it out and they’re doing the right thing,” she said of Canadian trucker protesters.
“They’re getting freedom for the whole world, is what they’re doing. We’re going up to support them. We’re not going to see them physically but we’re bringing up supplies for them, snacks, water, hand warmers, things of that nature, to let them know we thank them.”
Another group, Families are Essential, will be demonstrating on both sides of the border, at Mather Arch next to the bridge in Fort Erie and at Pat Sole Park at the base of the bridge in Buffalo.
The group’s Marcella Picone, an American living in Stoney Creek, said that the group has no plans to go onto the bridge either.
Families are Essential has held rallies through the pandemic and argues PCR testing requirements, costs and vaccination rules at the border are still making it difficult or in some cases impossible for people to see their families across the border.
“We absolutely support the trucker movement and what it stands for because that stands for eliminating all COVID mandates and allowing the people to once again live freely,” she said.
Neither Fay nor Picone knew how many people would show up for the Saturday rallies.
Police on both sides of the border have said they are monitoring the situation.
Karena Walter is a St. Catharines-based reporter, primarily covering city hall for the Standard. Reach her via email: [email protected]