Border blockade in Manitoba to be cleared Wednesday: RCMP

Manitoba RCMP expects the protest blockade at the border crossing in Emerson to be cleared by Wednesday.

Manitoba RCMP expects the protest blockade at the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Emerson to be cleared by Wednesday.

On Monday, RCMP said officers are confident a resolution has been reached and that demonstrators will be leaving the area soon, restoring full access to the Emerson Port of Entry.

"Our negotiators appear to have come to an agreement with organizers of the blockade, and they have actually begun working on taking it down," Sgt. Paul Manaigre of the Manitoba RCMP, told CTV News.

"We've given them time to basically get their message across, at the same time we've kind of stipulated sort of where we needed to have things moved forward."

The blockade of trucks, semi-trailers, farm equipment and other vehicles has restricted access to the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Emerson, Man. since Feb. 10.

Manaigre said he understands the frustration of Manitobans over the blockade, but said it may have made things worse if RCMP had gone in to clear the blockade when it was set up.

"There could have been injuries, things could have gotten out of hand. You clear one group – does that fire up a bunch of others to come take their place?" he said.