IS THIS HOW WE TREAT OUR NEIGHBORS? CANADIAN PROTESTS ARE COSTING AMERICAN WORKERS BIG
Trucker protests shut down millions in trade between U.S. and Canada each day, crippling the American auto industry
As faithful citizens and Christians adhering to Christ’s command to treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated, we can’t help but get agitated over the cost the Canadian Trucker Protest is having on the American economy.
The Canadian trucker protests, also called the “Freedom Convoy”, are shutting down the most important trade bridge between America and Canada. And it is costing American workers a lot.
ECONOMIC FALLOUT CAUSED BY THE PROTEST
The Canadian truckers have formed a blockade on the busiest border bridge between America and Canada that is essential for top car-manufacturing cities of Detroit and Windsor to produce automobiles. This bridge supports $360 million in trade daily—about 25% of all trade between the US and Canada. Every day it remains closed we lose that trade which is essential for blue collar workers.
These supply chain disruptions could cost American workers in Michigan up to $51 million in wages this week because of trucker protest, threatening jobs as companies consider massive layoffs to offset the costs.
Already, the United States and Canada have warned that if the blockade resumes or expands to other regions it will devastate supply chains between the two countries. This will drive up prices and put American workers out of work while companies struggle to rebound.
Protestors set up a blockade at the foot of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Canada on February 10, 2022.BY COLE BURSTON/GETTY IMAGE
The blockade has already forced Ford to shut down its engine plant in Windsor due to parts shortages and run their assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, on a reduced schedule. Other car manufacturers have also reported disruptions in their businesses and supply chains to FOX Business. Employees are being sent home early and losing their wages, meaning they will be spending less in their local economies and causing rippling economic fallout in blue collar industries. Companies are saying it will take them weeks to recover the work schedule and production they had before the protest. That is weeks that American families will have $200, $300, $400 shaved off their paychecks, likely causing an uptick in unemployment.
PROTESTING WITHOUT HURTING OUR NEIGHBORS
The right to peacefully protest is an essential part of freedom—but there is a better way to do it that does not hurt honest people.
The Canadian protesters should give thought to how their actions are affecting their neighbors—people who have bills and families to provide for. And when their actions hurt innocent, hard-working people, they should find a better way to make their voices heard.
We can not let standing up for one thing stop us from living out our values.