Update (2013ET): And just like that, the honkening may be coming to an end – as Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced on Tuesday that he’s ending the province’s vaccine passport system at midnight tonight.

The program will no longer be active on Wednesday, according to Kenney.

As the Toronto Star notes:

The passport system, dubbed as the Restrictions Exemption Program, is the first of the province’s current public health restrictions to go in a phased approach laid out by Kenney at a press conference Tuesday.

“Now is the time to begin learning to live with COVID,” said Kenney. “These restrictions have led to terrible division.”

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“We cannot remain at a heightened state of emergency forever. We have to begin to heal.”

Kenney announced a three-stage approach for the loosening of public health measures.

First, the province will remove nearly all restrictions for children, including the kindergarten to Grade 12 mask mandate, by the coming weekend. Children who are 12 and under also won’t have to abide by the general mask mandate in Alberta. The general mandate still applies for the rest of the population.

“It is time to let kids be kids,” Kenney said.

As the Star reports, after three weeks, authorities will determine if the province can move to Stage 2, which would see “almost all the remaining restrictions lifted,” including the mask mandate, capacity limits, and work-from-home orders. Kenny is hopeful this can be accomplished by March 1.

The final stage would see all restrictions lifted – however this could be paused if the healthcare system is under too much stress from Covid.

“The threat of COVID-19 to public health no longer outweighs the damaging impact of public health restrictions,” said Kenney, adding “We are well positioned to live with the virus.“

That said, Rebel News’ Ezra Lavant says Kenney is “He’s still going to have the QR codes. And he will still allow other entities, including private businesses, to discriminate based on those QR codes.”

The announcement marks a significant divergence from a clearly rattled Justin Trudeau.

*  *  *

Update (1340ET): More than 48 hours into protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge that connects Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, there are new warnings the auto industry might come to a “screeching halt” this week.

“Basically, if there’s a shutdown of transportation routes, the auto industry comes to a screeching halt in about two days,” Robert Wildeboer, executive chairman of Martinrea International Inc., said Tuesday on BNN Bloomberg Television.

Martinrea is a major auto parts manufacturer based in Vaughan, Ontario. It manufactures engine blocks, transmissions, cases, housings, suspensions, chassis components, and body paneling for automotive companies in Detroit.

“We have 38 trucks cross at the Detroit border per day and 16 in Sarnia,” Wildeboer said. Since protesters have shuttered the border crossing, it appears Martinrea’s ability to cross into Detroit has become challenging. 

So far, Martinrea’s shares trading in Toronto has yet to react to the disruption.

“A closure of the bridge would be catastrophic for the Canadian economy,” Brian Kingston, president, and chief executive officer of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, told Bloomberg. “It’s responsible for approximately 25% of our goods trade, it is far and away the most important border crossing between Canada and the U.S.”

* * *

A group of protesters have blocked one of the busiest international land border crossings in Canada – the Ambassador Bridge which links Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, for the second day in a row.

As the CBC reports, “Dozens of demonstrators lined Huron Church Road, which feeds traffic to the international crossing from Highway 401, with trucks and vehicles starting Monday afternoon and into Tuesday morning with local police asking people to avoid the area.”

As of Tuesday morning, Police announced in a tweet that one lane of US-bound traffic is open.

“I’m here for my kids, just to get it back to normal. They haven’t played hockey, it’s been a disaster. Just end, give us back what we need to live again. Trudeau, Doug Ford, just listen to us,” said Sam Kovak of Woodslee, Ont.

“”I was in Ottawa the past two weekends, all the people I talked to were vaccinated. It’s got nothing to do — just give us our freedom back,” he added. “Now we’re in the exact same position two years ago, my kids are still sitting at home, my wife is still sitting at home.”

“We’re sorry, but we have to make a stand.”

The Ambassador Bridge is one of the busiest international land border crossings in Canada and a major route for transport trucks.

Access to two schools on Huron Church Road near the bridge is limited Tuesday, prompting the Catholic school board to send a notice to families Tuesday.

Police are asking students and parents to avoid the road, and access the schools from California Avenue.

“The Windsor Police have assured that they have no concerns for student or staff safety at this time. They will have two police officers at the school to assist us with the situation this morning,” the memo read. –CBC

Republished from ZeroHedge.com with permission

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