Ambassador Bridge blockade curtailing production at local auto plants, including Oshawa and Oakville

General Motors plants in Oshawa and Lansing, Michigan have cut hours, with further production delays a possibility because of the Ambassador Bridge blockades in Windsor that are playing havoc with the ‘Just-in-Time’ parts supply system used by Canadian auto manufacturers.

Honda’s auto plant in Alliston also temporarily stopped production because of a lack of parts caused by the anti-mandate ‘Freedom Convoy’ that has blocked the bridge separating Windsor and Detroit.

Ford is now running its Oakville plant on a reduced schedule and was forced to shut down its engine plant in Windsor because of the protests and Toyota is dealing with parts shortages that have shut down its three Canadian plants.

The Ambassador Bridge usually handles 8,000 trucks a day – a quarter of all cross-border trade – worth a half billion dollars each day.

A group of leading business trade associations representing key sectors of the Canadian supply chain – including the Ontario Trucking Association – is urging all levels of government to work together in bringing an “immediate end” to the current blockades.

“Canada’s economy is being threatened as thousands of trucks and millions of dollars in cross-border trade that typically go through these entry points every day is being disrupted. Our borders are essential trade arteries that feed businesses and Canadians with essential goods, food, medicine, and critical industrial components that fuel our economy and support our critical infrastructure.”

Stephen Laskowski, the president of the Canadian Trucking Alliance & Ontario Trucking Association, said many of the protesters have “no connection” to the trucking industry and have a “separate agenda beyond a disagreement over cross border vaccine requirements.”

“As these protests unfold we ask the Canadian public to be aware that many of the people you see and hear in media reports do not have a connection to the trucking industry.”