WORLD : Canada Truckers Snarl Traffic

Canadian truckers upset over competition from U.S. drivers blocked commercial border crossings today, causing miles-long backups of big rigs.

One blockade closed commercial lanes on the Ambassador Bridge leading into Detroit from Windsor, Ontario, and trucks backed up five miles into Canada. Parked big rigs blocked commercial traffic in both directions at another important border crossing, the Blue Water Bridge at Port Huron. Car traffic was not impeded.

The Canadians say American truckers bring in goods from the United States, then slash their rates to grab U.S.-bound Canadian business so they won’t have to drive home empty. The Canadian truckers said such practices force them to work 80-hour weeks and cut their own wages.

They also are upset over alleged lax enforcement of their country’s trucking regulations on U.S. truckers. And they complain that a U.S.-Canada free trade agreement signed last year hurts Canadians because their industries are overwhelmed by competition from their more powerful neighbor.