Canadian mayor calls for more police as Ambassador Bridge traffic nightmare continues: LIVE UPDATES

Pastor Artur Pawlowski of Calgary, Alberta, remained in prison Wednesday after he was arrested following a speech to truckers blockading the Canada-U.S. border in Coutts, Alberta.

Calgary Police came to the pastor's home Tuesday and told him he was under arrest for mischief, according to video of the incident that was posted to Pawlowski's YouTube channel.

Pawlowski physically refused to comply with the arrest, forcing officers to carry him to their SUV.

"I do not cooperate with Nazis," said Pawlowski when officers asked him to stand up.

During an interview from jail with Rebel News, Pawlowski said he was interrogated by authorities regarding the identity of those leading the Coutts blockade, which continues to snarl a major artery into the United States.

The pastor urged truckers to "hold the line" against government overreach.

Pawlowski has been repeatedly arrested during the pandemic. He made international headlines last April when he forcefully ejected armed police and a public health official who entered his church's sanctuary during Holy Week to inspect it for COVID-19 compliance.

Pawlowski went on a speaking tour throughout the United States last summer, during which he met with lawmakers and warned audiences that Western governments increasingly resemble the communist government in Poland he fled as a young man. His grandmother suffered under the Nazi regime, according to an interview with The Daily Wire.

Since the pandemic, other churches throughout Canada have faced imprisoned pastors, locked facilities, steep fines and continued interference from government officials.

The attorneys general of Missouri and Texas have announced that they are investigating GoFundMe for shutting down a fundraiser for the "Freedom Convoy" of truckers in Canada.

"GoFundMe’s response to an anti-mandate, pro-liberty movement should ring alarm bells to anyone using the donation platform and, more broadly, any American wanting to protect their constitutional rights," said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a press release Wednesday.

Paxton also accused the fundraising platform of hypocrisy. "Many Texans showed their solidarity with Canadian truckers, who are proudly protesting vaccine mandates, by donating through GoFundMe," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Last week, the company blocked $10 million in donations intended for those participating in the Ottawa protests. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also said he plans to investigate GoFundMe.

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Founder and CFO of GiveSendGo Jacob Wells said on Wednesday that the Freedom Convoy in Canada deserves to be heard.

"I believe that people have a right to stand for freedom and that is what we see happening, and largely it is a peaceful movement, and we’ve been talking with people on the ground there and that is what they are seeing," Wells told "Fox & Friends First."

"They are seeing a groundswell of freedom-loving people standing for their rights, and we’re happy to see funds from people, primarily Canadian citizens, giving to this to push back against overreaching vaccine mandate laws."

After GoFundMe shut down fundraising for the Canadian "Freedom Convoy," donors flocked to Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo to support truckers protesting vaccine mandates in Ottawa.

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People play hockey while vehicles block the route leading from the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit and Windsor, on Wednesday. (REUTERS/Carlos Osorio)

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said Wednesday that he is requesting more police resources to be deployed to his city after speaking with officials at the provincial and federal levels about the ongoing blockade of the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. 

“Over the past 48 hours the Ambassador Bridge has been impacted by protesters in a manner very similar to what has transpired on Parliament Hill,” Dilkens said. “The difference here however is the significant impact on the busiest international border crossing in North America, and of course locally on our own economy in Windsor-Essex.” 

Windsor Police Chief Pam Mizuno said up to 75 vehicles and 100 protesters remain in the area. As of early Wednesday afternoon, the bridge still remains shut down on the Canadian-bound side. 

Dilkens said an estimated $450 million in goods crosses the Windsor-Detroit border daily, representing a third of all surface trade between America and Canada. 

“Every hour this protest continues our community hurts,” he said. “Thousands of workers feed their families because of the commerce made possible at the Ambassador Bridge. Hundreds of local auto parts companies stay in business because of the movement of goods across the Ambassador Bridge. Our grocery store shelves are stocked with food because of the transport of food across the border. And I am very concerned about the lasting and permanent impact that this demonstration and protest will have on the region’s economic competitiveness.” 

“Make no mistake -- our community will not tolerate this level of disruption for long. In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest peacefully, it’s part of what makes Canada great,” Dilkens added. “But the economic and social harm that these protests are having here in Windsor, in Ottawa and across Canada is quite significant.” 

Liberal MP Joel Lightbound, right, stands to vote in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on March 21, 2019. (REUTERS/Chris Wattie)

In a speech to Canadian parliament Tuesday, Joël Lightbound, a Liberal lawmaker from Quebec and member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's political party, took swipes at the PM for his government's current handling of the coronavirus pandemic and Ottawa trucker protests.

"I’ve heard from people worried that those making the decisions seem at times to have been blind to the fact that we’re not all equal for lockdowns that not everyone can earn a living on a Macbook at the cottage," Lightbound said in an apparent reference to Rideau College in Ottawa, where Trudeau lives.

"I think it’s time to stop dividing Canadians, to stop pitting one part of the population against another," he added, a day after Trudeau described the protesters occupying Ottawa as "a few people shouting and waving swastikas."

Lightbound, according to a translation of his speech by the National Post, said he wanted the protesters to leave Ottawa -- but also indicated that the Canadian government led by Trudeau should provide a "roadmap" as to when current coronavirus restrictions in Canada could end.

The Liberal lawmaker said Canadians are becoming "confused when they see countries around the world like Ireland, Sweden, Norway, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Denmark, Spain and the U.K., who have either dropped almost all restrictions or fast moving in that direction. All countries, I note, with lower vaccination rates than us.

"Now while folks are hearing and seeing all of this, they’re left rightfully wondering, ‘where the hell are we heading here in Canada?’" Lightbound asked.

OTTAWA, Ontario – Canadian truckers feel vilified by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's portrayal of them, they told Fox News.

"I think it's disgusting for any leader of a country to vilify people for exercising their democratic rights, their right to protest, the right to demonstrate peacefully," one trucker, Andy Wing, told Fox News.

Canadian truckers have been protesting in Ottawa for nearly two weeks, calling for an end to the government's vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. Trudeau on Monday demanded the protests stop on Monday, a day after Ottawa's mayor declared a state of emergency.

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Vehicles block the route leading from the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit and Windsor, as truckers and their supporters continue to protest against coronavirus mandates in Windsor, Ontario, on Tuesday. (REUTERS/Carlos Osorio)

Police in Windsor, Ontario have posted a plea to social media Wednesday as protesters continue to block traffic along the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit and Canada.

"We encourage the organizers of the demonstration to maintain an open communication with @WindsorPolice personnel using reasoned and tempered approach to come to a peaceful resolution," Windsor Police said.

Last night, police said demonstrators occupying a road leading up to the busy crossing "have interrupted normal vehicle traffic flow but we have been able to continue a limited amount of access to the Ambassador Bridge".

However, real-time traffic data on Google Maps Wednesday showed that the Canadian-bound side of the bridge remains closed while numerous streets in Windsor have been completely shut down.

The Michigan Department of Transportation is urging travelers to use the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron instead, which is about an hour's drive north from Detroit. However, Google Maps is indicating severe traffic delays on the American side of that bridge Wednesday morning.

The family of a Canadian great-grandfather who was stopped for "unnecessary noise" in Ottawa because he honked his horn in support of protesting truckers say a police officer who arrested him was overly aggressive Sunday, according to reports. 

"I meant no harm," Gerry Charlebois, who is 78, told the Toronto Sun. "I just gave the trucker a thumbs-up and a honk. I’m so sore. It hurts so much." 

Video of the incident appears to show an officer grabbing Charlebois’ arm and pushing him against his van to handcuff him. Charlebois appears to be resisting at times, according to the video. At one point he gets partially down on the ground but it's unclear if the officer pushed him or if he lost his balance. He was then taken away in handcuffs by two officers. 

"ATTENTION DEMONSTRATORS: @OttawaPolice will enforce an order prohibiting anyone from using air horns or train horns for any street north of Hwy 417 until February 16th, 2022 or any other date set by the Court," the Ottawa Police tweeted this week. 

Charlebois didn’t face criminal charges but was given a $118 bylaw ticket for "unnecessary noise," the Sun reported. 

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As of Wednesday morning, an online fundraiser for Canadian truckers protesting coronavirus and vaccine mandates in Ottawa has surpassed $7.3 million. 

Donors have flocked to Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo after GoFundMe blocked $10 million in donations intended for those participating in the Ottawa protests. 

Some Canadian provinces announced they are rescinding their vaccine mandates as protesting Canadian truckers continue to block major arteries on the Canada-U.S. border and clog the Canadian capital despite a crackdown from the Ottawa Police.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced during a Tuesday evening press briefing that the province's vaccine passport program would end effective midnight, and that most of the province's health rules would be over within three weeks.

"Our approach to COVID must change as the disease changes," Kenney said. "The restriction exemption program has served its useful purpose. It has done its job."

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Protesters of the Freedom convoy gather near the parliament hill as truckers continue to protest vaccine mandates against Covid-19, in Ottawa, Canada on February 7, 2022. (Photo by Amru Salahuddien/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The busiest border crossing in North America was shut down as the Canadian truckers protesting their country's vaccine mandates made it to the Detroit-Windsor border, causing traffic on the highway to Detroit. 

"It doesn’t make sense as they shouldn’t be blocking the borders or the roads," Canadian truck driver Nav Aulch told Click on Detroit. 

Traffic began building on I-75 and the Ambassador Bridge around 3 p.m. Monday. Detroit officials said the Ambassador Bridge was closed at about 8 p.m., leaving thousands of truckers left stranded on Detroit roads, according to Fox 2 Detroit. - Emma Colton