P.M. BRIEFING : Truckers’ Blockade of U.S. to End

Canadian independent truckers and government officials agreed today to end a blockade that snarled traffic at several U.S. border points and resulted in the temporary layoff of thousands of auto workers.

Canadian Transport Minister Douglas Lewis emerged from a three-hour meeting with representatives of the truckers to say a deal had been reached.

Lewis said he wanted to make sure that competition in Canada is fair to all truckers. Details of the agreement with the truckers were not immediately released, but truckers were angry that American competition, aided by lower fuel and maintenance costs, had taken away Canadian jobs.

“I’ve got tears in my eyes,” said Wayne Whitney, the trucker who organized the Windsor, Ontario, blockade. “David fought Goliath and David won.”