"The consequences are becoming more and more severe": PM warns trucker convoy protesters

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is warning “Freedom Convoy” protesters about increasingly severe consequences to their blockades.

While addressing the Canadian public on Friday afternoon, the PM talked about the harm the protester’s blockades are causing to Canadians and the economy.

Trudeau started the press conference by discussing a direct call he had with US President Joe Biden early on Friday, to discuss the US and Canada’s shared challenges at the border.

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“I updated him on the situation, particularly in Windsor. We discussed the American and indeed global influences on the protest. We talked about the US-based flooding of the 911 phone lines in Ottawa, the presence of US citizens in the blockades, and the impact of foreign money to fund this illegal activity.”

The PM said that he and Biden both agree that the blockades cannot continue “for the security of the people and the economy.”

“Make no mistake, the border cannot and will not remain closed,” he stressed, adding that the RCMP is working with provincial and local police departments to enforce the law out of concerns about violence breaking out.

Trudeau reiterated that the blockades are illegal and participants should go home, especially if they have kids with them.

“You don’t want to end up losing your licence, end up with a criminal record, which will impact your job, your livelihood, even your ability to travel internationally, including to the US,” he cautioned.

The PM also discussed Ontario’s Friday declaration of a state of emergency in the province, calling it “responsible and necessary.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced it in the morning, calling it “an illegal occupation.”

“I call it a siege because that’s what it is,” said Ford.

“Your right to make a political statement does not outweigh the right of hundreds of thousands of workers to earn their living. It does not outweigh our right to get food across our borders,” he said.

“The right to make a political statement does not weigh the rights of a million people in Ottawa to live peacefully free of harassment and chaos in their own homes.”