The week-long blockade of the Ambassador Bridge and subsequent police action to prevent it from taking hold a second time has cost the City of Windsor $5.7-million.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens told WindsorNewsToday.ca while there were some Transit Windsor and Public Works expenses, over $5-million went directly to policing the convoy protest.
Police seized 37 vehicles, arrested 46 participants, and laid 90 charges last month.
"Our local [police] chief suspended time off for all officers, which means they were working every day, and many of them were working on overtime," he said.
Then there was the cost of bringing several hundred police officers from across the country to Windsor, paying for their hotel rooms and feeding them.
"This was not a typical municipal expenditure," said Dilkens. "This was to respond to a national economic emergency."
He has assured taxpayers the city would push the province and federal government to reimburse those costs. It will send a letter to the appropriate officials soon.
"We would expect that our partners at both the federal and provincial government would step up," added Dilkens.
Harder to quantify, losses incurred by businesses and workers directly impacted by the blockade on Huron Church Road. While some could keep the lights on and workers on the job, others shut down.
Dilkens still hopes a compensation program will come through for them, although he's starting to get worried.
"We had some initial indication there would be some program forthcoming, but we have not seen any details as of yet, and so we're concerned that Windsor businesses will be second-class citizens here," he said.
A federal program will help Ottawa businesses recover from the three-week occupation of that city.
Ottawas spent more than $30-million policing that event. It is also seeking compensation.
