Michigan gov demands Canada 'immediately' reopen traffic on Ambassador Bridge: LIVE UPDATES

Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo remained defiant after a court in Ontario issued an order to freeze access to the millions of dollars in the GiveSendGo account of the Canadian "Freedom Convoy" on Thursday.

"Know this! Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo," the company said in a statement. "All funds for EVERY campaign on GiveSendGo flow directly to the recipients of those campaigns, not least of which is The Freedom Convoy campaign."

The convoy's GiveSendGo raised $8.4 million as of Thursday. The truckers had previously raised more than $10 million with GoFundMe until the platform shut it down last week at the request of Canadian officials.

The court order came after Ontario's attorney general brought an application in the Superior Court of Justice to prohibit the convoy from accessing the money.

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Doug Ford, Ontario's premier, listens during a news conference following the Canada's Premiers meeting in Toronto, Ontario, on Dec. 2, 2019. (Cole Burston/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

A court in Ontario froze access to the millions of dollars in the GiveSendGo account of the Freedom Convoy 2022 on Thursday.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford's office said in a statement that the province's attorney general brought an application in the Superior Court of Justice for an order "prohibiting any person from disposing of, or otherwise dealing with, in any manner whatsoever, any and all monetary donations made through the Freedom Convoy 2022 and Adopt-a-Trucker campaign pages on the GiveSendGo online fundraising platform."

"This afternoon, the order was issued. It binds any and all parties with possession or control over these donations,” Ford's office added.

Ford said Wednesday that he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about what he described as "the ongoing occupations in Ottawa and Windsor."

"We will continue working together to support our police forces as they manage these situations. We both agreed this must come to an end," he tweeted.

Truckers have blocked the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, for days, snarling traffic on the busiest artery along the U.S.-Canada border in protest of the country's vaccine mandates. The convoy had previously raised more than $10 million with GoFundMe until the platform shut it down and refunded the money at the request of the Canadian government.

The GiveSendGo account had raised $8.4 million as of Thursday.

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EXCLUSIVE : Republican leaders are calling for a congressional hearing and seeking more information on GoFundMe's decision to block donations for the Canadian trucker's Freedom Convoy – arguing that the move amounts to another attack by Big Tech on free speech.

"We are concerned about the growing trend of Big Tech’s increasing refusal to permit a level playing field in the marketplace of ideas, instead actively censoring conservative viewpoints while promoting far-left causes, especially where millions of dollars in crowdsourced funds are potentially misappropriated," read a letter from House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer, R-Ky. —Samuel Dorman

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Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens announced Thursday that he is seeking a court injunction to remove the protesters who continue to snarl traffic on the Ambassador Bridge, a key artery into the United States.

"To those who are thinking about joining the protest, let me just say this. You are not welcome here,” he said during an afternoon press briefing.

"We plan to be in front of a Judge of the Superior Court as soon as possible, hopefully today, and I'm hopeful that the facts of this application speak clearly to the court about the need for intervention."

Dilkens said the economy is losing $400 million for each day the border crossing is blocked.

“Yesterday, I spoke to the importance of a peaceful resolution, and I still remain hopeful that goal can be achieved,” he added.

Ford said its Windsor, Ontario, engine plant reopened Thursday after being shut down on Wednesday because of a lack of parts. But the factory and the company’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto, were operating at reduced capacity, the automaker said.

On the U.S. side, GM canceled the second shift on Wednesday and the first shift on Thursday at its SUV factory outside Lansing, Michigan.

Toyota said it will not be able to manufacture anything at three Canadian plants for the rest of the week because of parts shortages. In a statement, the automaker blamed supply chain disruptions, weather and pandemic-related problems, but the shutdowns came just days after the blockade began Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A protester builds a platform on top of a shed attached to a flatbed truck as protests continue in Ottawa, Canada, on Thursday. (Justin Tang /The Canadian Press via AP)

Could the truckers who iced Parliament Hill in Ottawa over vaccine  and mask mandates also freeze Capitol Hill and Washington, D.C.?

To be clear, there is no plan to do so. There has been chatter about truckers protesting the Super Bowl in Los Angeles this weekend. There has also been discussion of a caravan beginning in early March.

Multiple Capitol Hill sources tell Fox News they are unaware of any plan for truckers to duplicate anything in Washington. Still, Fox is told there have been conversations about what would happen if 18-wheelers and other rigs paralyzed the Capitol.

Click here to read more on Fox News.

Police officers patrol on foot along Albert Street as a protest against COVID-19 restrictions continue in Ottawa on Thursday.

A report has emerged Thursday saying Premier Doug Ford is looking to speed up Ontario's reopening timeline as he faces pressure from local and provincial politicians.

The Canadian province still has numerous coronavirus restrictions in place, such as capacity limits of 50 percent for restaurants and gyms and proof of vaccination for entries into certain businesses and public settings.

Sources told CTV News that Ford -- whose province is making international headlines for demonstrations in Ottawa and the ongoing blockade of the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, which appears to have no end in sight -- has personally asked for new regulations to be drawn up to accelerate the reopening schedules.

The report came out after Ford tweeted late last night that he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "about the ongoing occupations in Ottawa and Windsor."

"We will continue working  together to support our police forces as they manage these situations. We both agreed this must come to an end," Ford said.

The provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan announced the ending of their coronavirus measures earlier this week.

Police in Windsor, Ontario have made a plea on social media Thursday for people to "stop calling our E911 Communications Centre for info on bridge wait times or how they should proceed with their plans" as the Ambassador Bridge remains partially closed for its fourth straight day.

"Truckers should still utilize the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia & commuter traffic use the tunnel. Our lines need to remain open for emergencies," Windsor Police wrote on Twitter.

Yesterday, Windsor Police Chief Pam Mizuno said up to 75 vehicles and 100 protesters remained in the area.

"Although the Ambassador Bridge is not closed US bound, the presence of demonstrators are making it difficult to access the bridge," police also tweeted Thursday.

People protest at the Ottawa International Airport Thursday morning against coronavirus restrictions and mandates. (REUTERS/Patrick Doyle)

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Manitoba announced Thursday that "a demonstration involving a large number of vehicles & farm equipment is blocking the Emerson Port of Entry" connecting its province to Pembina, North Dakota.

"No traffic is getting through either northbound or southbound. The Port of Entry is shut down. Please avoid the area," police said in a tweet.

The development comes as the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Ontario remains closed to Canadian-bound traffic because of protesters there, while demonstrators gathered in Alberta have created a 7-hour delay for those looking to head into the province at a port of entry in Montana.

Traffic appears to be easing Thursday at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Mich., where the state has been directing travelers to as the Ambassador Bridge remains closed. However, those looking to pass that border crossing into Canada will still have to wait more than an hour, the Canada Border Services Agency says.

A convoy of vehicles also made its way around the arrivals and departures traffic area at the Ottawa International Airport Thursday.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a statement Thursday saying that the Canadian government "must take all necessary and appropriate steps to immediately and safely reopen traffic" along the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario. 

“The blockade is having a significant impact on Michigan’s working families who are just trying to do their jobs. Our communities and automotive, manufacturing and agriculture businesses are feeling the effects. It’s hitting paychecks and production lines. That is unacceptable," the governor said.

“It is imperative that Canadian local, provincial, and national governments de-escalate this economic blockade," she continued. "They must take all necessary and appropriate steps to immediately and safely reopen traffic so we can continue growing our economy, supporting good-paying jobs and lowering costs for families.”

Authorities in Belgium have banned a threatened blockade for Monday and said they would prepare to keep a convoy from cutting off access to the capital of Brussels. 

A wide perimeter around the city of 1.1 million would be set up to keep an excess of trucks out of the center of Brussels.

Brussels Mayor Philippe Close said in a Twitter message that officials decided to ban the ”Freedom Convoy” protest because organizers failed to seek permission to hold the event.

A similar freedom convoy is planned in Vienna, Austria on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A man puts a poster reads "Liberty Convoy" on a van before leaving for Paris, in Bayonne, southwestern France, on Wednesday. (AP/Bob Edme)

French police, citing “risks of trouble to public order,” have banned protests aimed at “blocking the capital” of Paris from Friday through Monday.

Blocking traffic can lead to two years in prison, more than $5,000 in fines and a suspended driver's license, the police department said in a statement.

Online chat groups in France have been calling for drivers to converge on Paris starting Friday night, and to continue on to the European Union's capital in Brussels on Monday. Small groups of drivers set out Wednesday from Bayonne on France’s Atlantic coast and Nice on the French Riviera, with stickers on their cars reading “Freedom Convoy.” Departures were also reported in other cities.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Those hoping to enter Canada by way of a border crossing between Sweet Grass, Montana and Coutts, Alberta will have to wait at least 7 hours Thursday morning, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Traffic is no longer flowing in the southbound lane because of the protester blockade, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police told KRTV on Wednesday.

Police block Huron Church road which leads to the Ambassador Bridge, linking Detroit and Windsor, as truckers and their supporters continue to protest against the coronavirus vaccine mandates in Ontario on Wednesday. (REUTERS/Carlos Osorio)

The Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, Ontario remains "temporarily closed" on the Canadian-bound side as of Thursday morning, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

On Tuesday, Windsor police had said there was a "limited amount of access to the Ambassador Bridge" on the U.S.-bound side.

Firefighters put out a burning barrel fire as truckers and supporters block access to the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit and Windsor on Wednesday. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ford Motor Company announced late Wednesday that ongoing parts shortages have forced it to temporarily close an engine plant in Windsor, Ontario.

“This interruption on the Detroit-Windsor bridge hurts customers, auto workers, suppliers, communities and companies on both sides of the border,” Ford said in a statement obtained by the Associated Press. “We hope this situation is resolved quickly because it could have widespread impact on all automakers in the U.S. and Canada."

The company also reportedly is running an assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario -- outside of Toronto -- on a reduced schedule.

Traffic jammed nine miles from the border south of Port Huron, Michigan’s Blue Water Bridge due to trucker protests in Canada. (Michael Lee)

PORT HURON, Mich. – Canadian truckers protesting at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, have caused a miles-long traffic jam at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Michigan, where commercial traffic was rerouted when the Ambassador Bridge was closed to vehicles entering Canada.

Truckers billing themselves the "Freedom Convoy" began blocking lanes Monday on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit to Windsor, causing a traffic jam that eventually led to the bridge closing down traffic to Canada. -Michael Lee