'Additional resources' tapped by RCMP in case towing or arrests needed at Coutts border

An RCMP spokesman says the force has brought in "additional resources" in case towing or arrests are needed as a protest against COVID-19 public health measures continues to jam traffic at a Canada-U.S. border crossing in a southern Alberta village — but safety is its first priority.

"There's really no change overnight. We're still facing a blockade, the highway is still completely closed off by trucks," RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters told the Calgary Eyeopener on Tuesday morning.

Since Saturday afternoon, motorists travelling to and from the United States have been caught in a large blockade of vehicles that choked off the highway from south of Lethbridge to the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts.

The demonstration is tied to an ongoing, nationwide protest over federal rules for unvaccinated or partially vaccinated Canadian truckers entering Canada from the U.S., which took effect earlier this month.

It mandates that truckers who are not fully vaccinated must get a PCR test and quarantine.

The United States implemented a similar mandate on Jan. 22 requiring that all U.S.-bound travellers — including truckers — show proof they've had the required shots.

"We have brought in additional resources from all over Alberta to come here, to be prepared in the event that it does come to, you know, arrests and tow trucks and all that," Peters said. 

"We'll use them if we need to."

The blockade is made up of both commercial and passenger vehicles that are positioned on Highway 4 to the village of Coutts, Peters said.

It has clogged the border crossing that is an entry point for a wide variety of goods, from foodstuffs to animal feed to farm equipment, and left some truckers stranded in the traffic gridlock.

On Monday, RCMP were able to free 40 or 50 vehicles that Peters described as "victims kind of caught in the mix of this."

"That was one of the objective objectives for yesterday, to get them freed," Peters said.

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As the situation drags on, and at a standstill, Peters said that safety of persons — including police, those living in the community of Coutts and the media — is the first priority for RCMP.