Ontario Premier Doug Ford is declaring a state of emergency in the province in response to what he called the “siege” of Ottawa.

Protests in Ottawa are headed into their third weekend and have expanded to border crossings at the Ambassador Bridge, Emerson, Manitoba and Coutts, Alberta.

The announcement comes one day after the Ontario government announced it had successfully petitioned a court to freeze protest organizers’ access to millions of dollars donated through the online fundraising program GiveSendGo.

Ford says the province is competing with the rest of the world and the bridge is critical to Ontario’s economy consequently incisive action is needed to get the goods on the Ambassador bridge moving back and forth.

Ford says he appreciates the right to protest but it  must not extend to cutting off the lifeline which is the Ambassador Bridge which he says  sees $700 million dollars of two-way trade every day.

Please go home, to those who have brought their children, take them home; it is time to leave peacefully. Those words also from Ontario Premier Doug Ford Friday morning as he described the convoy protest as taking Ottawa, a city of a million people, hostage for the last two weeks while trying to force a political agenda through disruption and chaos.

Premier Ford says the right to make a political statement doesn’t outweigh rights of hundreds of thousands workers or the ability to get food across the border.