And Another Day

I was contacted by the Privacy Commissioner's Office so they have received the Appeal. That should be an interesting process but long and time-consuming as well if my past experience is a guide.

Is It Au Revoir to Gridlock Sam

Is it finally the end of the road for Sam Schwartz in Windsor? If so, what will the Mayor and Council say when confronted by citizens who elected them to find a border solution? Sam was their only hope!

You remember Sam Schwartz don't you, the author of the famous Schwartz Report on the border. You have not heard a lot about him for some time.

He was the world famous traffic guru; the man who helped coin the word "Gridlock." He was the traffic engineer who could deliver a pitch with the best of them and who dared us to THINK BIG as only a New Yorker could.

His Report became Windsor's Holy Grail. Whatever our problem was, Schwartz was the answer. His Report was the salvation that the Mayor and Council needed to demonstrate that they knew what to do on the border. "Schwartz, Schwartz, Schwartz" was their rallying cry. It became simple for them. Just mention the Report and that would keep everyone quiet it was hoped.

Without going through the gory details, the Report was undercut by our Mayor on Detroit TV two days after it was issued when Eddie conceded that the Bi-national was the decision-maker. From receiving a standing ovation to the report being ripped apart shortly thereafter, it became clear that the Report was more a political document than an engineering one. When the Report became a "starting point" for the City after months of Eddie trying to sell it unsuccesfully and then Cansult tore out the guts of it, we knew that it was over.

Sam had a couple of last hurrahs. Frankly one was an embarrassing one as far as I was concerned at the Joint Councils meeting in Detroit and then at the Council meeting in Tecumseh. But the fire was gone. He just went through the paces it seemed.

My understanding is that Sam Schwartz of Canada, Ltd. required a Certificate of Authorization to engage in the business of offering and providing professional engineering services to the public. As I have posted before, Marko Paranosic left Sam's office and joined Stantec in Kitchener. I have been advised that:

• "When the only engineer of a CofA chooses to leave his/her current employment, or if a member is “Lapsed/Resigned/Retired or even Deceased”; as per the Professional Engineering Act and Regulations the CofA has to be suspended, and the CofA holder is given certain amount of time to pursue finding a suitable replacement for the departing P. Eng., which is the case of Sam Schwartz of Canada ltd. as of the yesterday [August 30]."

What does it all mean to us? Will Sam find a replacement or will he let his Certificate lapse? Who is Windsor's expert now? Whose name does the Mayor use to impress others and whom does Eddie drag along to meetings? Why would Marko leave and Sam not replace him if there was still work to do? Will Sam get another chance to make some money or is the office closed except for face-saving purposes?

Clearly we are hearing less and less of Schwartz and more of "quality of life" and tunnels. Since they failed miserably with Schwartz, Eddie and Council need to pretend that they are accomplishing something when in reality they have achieved little. The failure is overwhelmingly disastrous for us since they had all of the key players eating out of their hands when they were first elected. The Senior Levels and the Americans waited on us, wanting to know what we wanted and we were let down by our leaders. In a few simple words, the Mayor and Council blew it and blew it badly.

They disappointed the people that elected them and did it in the most outrageous manner possible. The people elected on a platform of open and transparent government hid everything from us on the border issue and they still are.

We are worse off now than we were three years ago. Windsor has no position; we just posture. We react to what others do as before and are no longer proactive. We have given up. We are worn out. We wonder why no one listens to us. We have no friends and have become isolated. We have no one around whom we can rally since we no longer have the trust. There are no innovative ideas from Council, no solutions. It is just hanging on and hoping it can all be kept quiet until after the election.

To be quite direct about it, I think that Eddie knew he lost early on or perhaps never cared since he is focusing on the Tunnel so much. I think Schwartz was meant to divert people's attention away from the Tunnel and Eddie's Plan. Frankly, I think Eddie secretly hoped that the Senior Levels would get fed up and impose a solution on Windsor. Then it would NOT be his fault and no one could be angry at him or blame him for THEIR decision. He could still be our hero tilting at windmills.

What has it all come down to--the Made in Windsor border solution will be made by Transport Canada and the Bridge Company, probably sooner rather than later. And you know what, I think most Windsorites would welcome it now.

So au revoir Sam if you decide to go. You gave us one brief shining moment that evening at the Cleary. You made us feel good and gave us hope until reality set back in much too quickly.

Has Youth Deserted Eddie

It's a good thing that there may be no mayoral race this year or Eddie could have been in real trouble.

There is no doubt, after watching Kwame get re-elected by capturing the youth vote in Detroit, that the E-machine decided to go after that vote in Windsor. Ergo the Youth Committee.

Another Devonshire Mall Town Hall meeting was held recently and the results were not good from the perspective of youth. But from the Mayor's perspective, they may have been perfect!

We learned that:

• "Turnout sparse at youth forum
  The mayor was listening, but not a lot of kids were talking.
  
  Only about 40 teens turned out for Eddie Francis's second youth town hall meeting at the Devonshire Mall on Thursday night...
  
  Organized by the mayor's youth advisory committee, the gathering had been billed as a sequel to the youth town hall meeting Francis held in October 2005, which drew an estimated 150 teens."
  
  

But every good politician can find an excuse why something did not turn out as expected:

• "Francis said he wasn't disappointed by the small crowd, adding he was surprised the event attracted the audience that it did, considering the day of the week and the summer season."

DUH!!!! If the Mayor expected that the crowd would be small, then why was the meeting held at this time of the year and not when it would be convenient for youth to attend? Was it really an opportunity to listen or just to get another checkmark on the Mayor's Report Card. The smaller the crowd, the less likely that too many tough questions would have to be fielded as well.

Whoever schedules meetings in the Mayor's Office ought to be fired. First postponing the Mayor's Summit because it was right before a holiday weekend, then another Mayor's meeting a few days after the Labour Day holiday and now this fiasco of holding a meeting when people will not be there.

You'd almost think that these meetings are held just for publicity purposes and for the photo-op only to pretend that something was being done when there is no desire to do so.

There And Here Along The 401

Can we really take any more bad news? The possible loss of 1,000 Ford jobs won't help either. Do you see anyone caring or trying to do something to stimulate our economy?

LONDON, August 9, 2006 –

July home starts in the London Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) hit the highest monthly starts level in eighteen years, according to preliminary figures released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) today. Two high-rise rental apartment developments totaling 394 units drove total July housing starts through the roof to 616 units, up 150 per cent from the same month a year earlier. Single-detached home construction softened to 190 home started, down seven per cent from 204 homes a year ago. Year-to-date single detached home starts, however, are eight per cent ahead of those started over the January to July period last year.

“London builders have accelerated the development of high-rise projects in anticipation of demand for apartments from empty-nesters and those seeking locations closer to city amenities,” said Penny Wu, CMHC’s London Market Analyst. “Apartment home starts are forecast to hit their highest level in more than a decade this year.”


WINDSOR, August 9, 2006 –

According to data released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), total housing starts in the Windsor Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) fell to 55 units, down from the 157 units started in July 2005. Total starts for the first seven months of this year were 16 per cent lower than last year.

“July’s level of housing starts fell well below the 10 year average in Windsor,” said Margot Stevenson, Market Analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. “A high Canadian dollar which has negatively affected the exports and tourism sectors is contributing to less demand for new housing in Windsor,” added Stevenson.

Single starts in the Windsor area totaled 49 units last month, down 57 per cent from July 2005. Multiple starts which consisted of six semi-detached units, were 86 per cent lower than one year earlier.

Another Day Passes

I'll post my appeal papers on Friday (unless some other more exciting story takes its place). It will give you something to read over the long holiday weekend

$30 Million Tunnel Plaza Money Saved

Whew, taxpayers have just been saved $30 Million! I read in the Star today that "Despite concerns over security, the Windsor tunnel commission has pushed for vehicles heading toward Detroit to again begin lining up inside the underwater border crossing." Obviously the massive traffic jams in the downtown caused by the theft of the South Windsor Art Gallery work of art "Take The Tunnel" has caused the WTC and its Chair Mayor Eddie Francis to reconsider their approach.

I read an article where Neil Belitsky of the Detroit and Canada Tunnel Corporation said "“911 was in a sense a good wake-up call,” says Belitsky. “It really has caused all of us to have a balance between safety, security and facilitating traffic. ” The article also said that "Immediately after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, the tunnel corporation stopped vehicle queuing inside the tunnel. Today, a cap is placed on the number of vehicles allowed in the tunnel to ensure quick and efficient traffic flow." Obviously, the traffic jams downtown in the mornings mean that this plan no longer works.

You know that the new $30M Tunnel Plaza Improvement project was designed supposedly to get cars off of City streets ie it was for a giant parking lot that would be achieved by expropriating all kinds of property downtown. I was told at the last meeting held about the project that the new Tunnel Plaza area would hold about 165 vehicles.

So I did some math. I took the length of a 2007 Cadillac Escalade at 222 inches (I figured that was a big vehicle) and multiplied it by 165 and got an answer of 3052.5 feet. Considering that the Tunnel length is 5160 feet (which means it can hold about 279 vehicles), I figured that our Tunnel problem is now solved without spending $30 million of taxpayer money.

I also figured that the Tunnel volume in 1999 was 50% higher than it was today and the Tunnel functioned. Since the Tunnel Plaza improvement project was to allow 50% more vehicles to be processed, we were ok too. In other words, 50% more traffic using today's numbers would equal the volume that was handled in 1999. No need to build more when we know that the Tunnel can handle around 10 million vehicles, not the 6 or 7 million today.

Why then were we having these traffic problems? Oh stop being so cynical for heaven's sake. I know, I know---if we did not have backups on City streets, how could we convince the Senior Levels to fork over $20M to eliminate backups on City streets. If we had no backups, that would mean Windsor would have had to finance the Tunnel Plaza Improvements out of taxpayer pockets to feed Eddie's grand Plans. The Tunnel would have been less attractive to investors too which also would be a main concern of the Mayor.

The reality is that, when Reverse Customs is introduced at the border crossings, the City would need all of the land and space to handle the inspections on our side and we as Windsorites would have had to pay for it all. The new Plaza is designed for reverse customs!

Can we thank the Mayor for being so clever so as to one-up the Senior Levels and not cost us money? The answer is NO! He was too clever for our good. Had he negotiated the deal and said why he wanted it, the Senior Levels would have paid up to pretend that the three levels were now getting along. Don't you remember have lovey-dovey everyone was when the Phase 1 Agreement for the border crossing was signed 2 years ago. We are now at risk of losing the Senior Levels' money since Eddie's justification for the improvements is no longer there.

Why would Eddie not negotiate in the way that made sense you ask----simple. If he advocated for reverse customs at the time, the Bridge Co. would have had it in operation by now since they had advocated for reverse customs for years. They would have had reverse customs long before the Tunnel did meaning the Tunnel would be even worse off financially. Eddie had to buy time but in doing so he risked us losing $20 million. In passing, are the $300M BIF funds at risk?

One more bit of information for you to put things in a context. The Bridge and Tunnel Operators Association (BTOA) is an organization consisting of all international bridge and tunnel operators across the Ontario/Michigan/New York border. BTOA has a "seven-point action plan to address security and travel efficiency experience since September 11 at Canada/U.S. border crossings." It includes reverse customs inspection procedures which our Mayor as WTC Chair should have known about and for which he finally advocated recently.

Until their plan was implemented "To ensure the safety of all their customers, the BTOA members unanimously agree to strict traffic management protocols. ..all members will continue to restrict bridge/tunnel volumes to levels that can immediately flow across facilities. The goal is to avoid having vehicles sitting on bridges or in tunnels."

What that exactly means is obviously open to interpretation. Because of the mess downtown, WTC has been forced to rethink its interpretation. I wonder if the City-retained Gridlock Sam whose City, New York, runs tunnels would take the same position as did the WTC in restricting traffic? I wonder if the WTC interpretation there would have meant traffic gridlock in NYC. If it was not the NYC view, and they are at ground zero for risks, then one has to wonder about Windsor's position and the reasons for it.

It's fine. You may add cynical to my list of personal, descriptive adjectives.

What Do Buses And An Arena In Windsor Have In Common

It should be an easy answer if you have been reading the newspaper recently.

Windsorites have lost something when Councillor Zuk decided not to run for office again. Oh, I don't mean a voice on Council. Who cares about that since Council is so ineffectual. No, I mean we may never see her do her little dance downtown and now it appears that her funky Bus Terminal is in big trouble.

In Saturday's Star, we read that "Skyrocketing construction costs have been showing up in bids such as the city's new downtown transit terminal, which came in recently at $1 million more than expected... The terminal building would be in the range of $3 million. But the lowest bid that came in -- from Gulf Construction -- was $4,181,174." In other words a Megaproject that is about 40% overbudget, so far! Pretty typical for many governmental projects it seems

Go back and read the story again and this time replace the bus terminal with an East end arena. You know, the $55 million palace that the City wants to build and operate alone that really costs $75-80 million when you add in land and architect's fees. I have heard that the East end arena is almost a done deal (IF it gets done at all) so the Toldo and Rosati families should give up gracefully now and save their money. Why be embarrassed when Administration shoots their project down.

But we all know that the project will not come in at the cost expected. If it is 40% higher, then we are looking at an arena project that will be over $100 M by the time it is done. Do you really think that the new Council will go for that when the two families would have built a Raceway arena for a maximum City contribution of $15M! See, it won't be Eddie's fault but that of Council if we do not get an arena. And I wonder if the Casino would be upset at not having a competitor too.

Can you imagine the amount that a new "public" bridge would be over budget by the time it was completed? And if a tunnel was involved too as the Mayor wants, I just hate to think about it. Just for your information, here is the standard form of excuses that can be used for every Megaproject when the high cost comes in. I have taken the comments from the bus terminal article:

1. inflated cost of building materials drives up the price of projects
2. contractors are being kept busy with work elsewhere
3. major projects have have drained the number of construction workers and skilled tradesmen available to do municipal projects
4. raw material is at a premium eg price of copper has quadrupled
5. the project could not be completed -- using the high-end materials the city wanted -- for the amount the city had in mind so many contractors did not bid.
6. the budget estimate set in 2000 was too low for 2006 costs.

So have you figured out the answer to the question I posed?

What they have in common is "TERMINAL." Buses have a terminal (or maybe not in Windsor) and the arena is terminal.

The Appeal Has Been Filed

I will be posting the appeal notice in the next few days. I want it delivered first to Toronto to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner before I show it here.

It is all a waste of time and effort. There is information that should come freely from City Hall but instead we have to play games. It is discouraging but then again, what should one expect from an Administration that claims to be open and transparent when the reality is otherwise. C'est la vie!

If you want a good chuckle, read the story in the City's summer 2006 Newsletter about "Listening to the Community---Windsor City Council and I are committed to open, accessible government and public consultation." Tell me if what is described is just "one-way" communications because that is how it reads to me: we open up to them and they close up to us.

The Tunnel: Isn't It Ironic

I almost burst out laughing when I saw the Star story that the deal between the City of Detroit and the Bridge Co. is still "in the works." After all of this time and all of this effort, our Mayor may be partnered with the Bridge Co. after all.

If I were a Detroit Councillor, I may not be too happy right about now. In fact, I might even ask for the forgiveness of the Deputy Mayor, Anthony Adams, for daring to question him! He may be right in what he did after all.

The previous Detroit deal with the Bridge Co. that is still on the table might start looking better and better now after the last few months of Tunnel surprises. Has the value of the Tunnel been sharply decreased over the last few months so that whatever Detroit receives is much less now than before? If other possible investors may now be thinking twice about the Tunnel, does that mean that the Bridge Co. price will go down as well? What if the Bridge Co. walks away?

Now Detroit Council members will learn what we have seen over the last 3 years. Our Mayor is strong on talk but short on delivery.

It sounded pretty good at the Joint Councils meeting about the $6.6 million per year dividend that Windsor receives from Tunnel operations and how we ought to work together on a joint operation. However, we learned the other week that this dividend is just about gone now and that the WTC might have to borrow millions from the City. Isn't it amazing how quickly that dividend disappeared!

In passing, thank goodness that Councillor Halberstadt asked the questions at Council the other night or the public would not have known about this. I wonder if this is part of the Tunnel misery that Councillor Budget knew about over a year ago but refused to tell us. Quite a contrast in Councillor styles and informing the public that voters might want to remember on Election Day.

We have learned that traffic volumes have decreased sharply even with low Windsor toll pricing with border crossers using the bridge. Since 1999, the Tunnel's volumes have declined from 9.6 million vehicles to about 6 million in 2005. Revenues have decreased by a third, declining every year from about $18M to $12M since 1999. Cost overruns on the Tunnel Ventilation Building have increased the price from $13M to over $20M. Major changes will have to be made because of security concerns. And the Tunnel Plaza Improvement parking lot joke....$30M although the Senior Levels might pay 2/3 of it.

I hear now that there has been an audit of the Windsor Tunnel Commission. That report should be published immediately so that taxpayers and Detroit Council can know what the shape of the WTC is.

There is not much more to say. The Tunnel news is all bad for Windsor and now for Detroit.

I wonder what the deal will be this time around. A new "public" bridge would NOT improve the Tunnel future since it would provide additional competition. Wouldn't it be hilarious if the two City governments and Transport Canada are forced to beg the Bridge Co. to take over the operation of the Tunnel before it becomes a total mess.

Now that would be ironic, don't you think!

I Will Appeal

I am sure it is no surprise but I will be filing an appeal in this matter.

The fact that there is such silly games-playing makes me very suspicious as to what is there that I am not supposed to see!

I will post the appeal document after it has been filed.

Stolen Artwork Recovered; Border Back To Normal

Windsor Police Services confirmed that the stolen work of art from the South Windsor Art Gallery has been recovered and rehung on the wall of the E C Row underpass on Dougall Ave on Friday. The mural titled, "Take The Tunnel," had been on display for several months until it was stolen from the Art Gallery under mysterious circumstances.

Once the announcement was officially made, US Customs immediately reduced the level of security at border crossings across Canada and traffic is now flowing freely.

Because of a secret, joint Canadian-American protocol, the borders had been locked down in the event that the thieves tried to smuggle the work of art out of Canada. A representative from US Customs stated that they were "pleased to be able to assist their friends south of the border down Windsor way and hoped that tourists and truckers were not inconvenienced too much by traffic delays."

We expect that Eddie Francis, Mayor of Windsor and Chair of the Windsor Tunnel Commission must be relieved now. Tunnel traffic had been reduced drastically after the mural was stolen since visitors were looking for directions to take them to the border crossing. Apparently, many of them got lost and wound up at the Ambassador Bridge where the two-way tolls are lower anyway. It seems that many of them confused the Bridge Co. advertising billboard on Dougall with the work of art and went to the Bridge instead.

A Police spokesperson to refused to divulge any details of the recovery other than to state that the investigation was ongoing. The spokesperson did confirm however that the WTC did provide a reward of the 2 paper tokens to use the Tunnel for border crossing to an anonymous informant who provided the vital clues that resulted in the recovery. Arrests of the criminals is expected soon if they have not already fled the country

An artist at a local educational institution said it is not at all unusual for famous pieces of art to be stolen for rich collectors who want the work of art to be hung in their own private gallery. He was shocked however at the apparent lack of security at the South Windsor gallery. "Here we have masterpieces created and the City cannot afford proper surveillance," he fumed. He said that his information was that the robbery took place in broad daylight with the thieves disguised as workers. "Not one person thought to call police. How shocking! The genius behind the plan obviously gambled that no one would say a thing."

Keep tuned to this BLOGsite for further details as the story unfolds

Did CRASH Crash

CRASH (City Residents Against Super Highway), and Choosetunneling sponsored a rally last week to protest "against the above ground DRIC Talbot/Huron Church corridor superhighway proposal." Of course it is merely a proposal so far but I assume the groups are rallying proactively so that this solution will not be chosen.

According to their press release, "Hundreds of flyers and thousands of e-mails have been delivered in co-ordination by the organizers within the past three weeks." If the numbers of people who came out are an indication, then one may question whether "There has been strong positive feedback and a high level of participation interest from neighbouring concerned residents."

If so, then the City Hall strategy of trying to shift voter attention away from the DRIC road to something elese, anything else, to preserve incumbent electability may also have failed miserably. The Schwartz Report did not work and now this brainstorm may not have captured the support of Windsorites as expected. Wards 1 and 2 Councillors may have a much more difficult time against their opponents when they try to explain exactly what they have accomplished over 3 years on the border file.

Here are some comments from an observer of the rally that was sent to me:

• To those who didn't know what it was all about, the rally would remain a mystery.
• Residents were at four different corners and I counted perhaps a total of about 70 people combined.
• Most had signs with "Stop DRIC", and "CRASH" and some others handwritten and hard to read.
• There was some horn honking but certainly not the response that I think the organizers wanted.
• Curiously, at the corner by the outlet mall there were a small group of people proposing ChooseTunneling/DRTP
• Leave the kids at home. Sure animals and kids make for good TV but not appropriate at a rally. Or if you do bring them, watch them!

The reality that we learned at STOPDRTP early on in our struggle was that "quality of life" arguments do not work. No one in power cares frankly. How can one make a reasoned environmental argument against expressways when Highway 401 has a gazillion lanes as it goes through Toronto and people live beside it as they do with the Interstate expressways in Detroit. Even Ottawa has Highway 417.

What is needed are "economic" arguments to justify one solution over another. That is why in the end DRTP could never make it because it made no sense from an economic perspective and a new bridge is also doubtful economically. No government is going to spend billions in Windsor and set a precedent by putting a new road underground. No Government can afford another Big Dig either. When trucks are going to have devices that reduce hazardous emissions to virtually zero and with new fuels coming out, the argument for spending billions on a tunnel are hard to make.

As for economic arguments, Choosetunneling has not yet provided a convincing argument that there is an economic advantage to building a tunnel. In fact, it seems to be a breakeven proposition using their numbers. They claim "2.5 BILLION DOLLARS of calculated negative impact damage on Windsor and its residents (over 50 years), if an above grade route is built instead of tunneling." A tunnel would probably cost that much or more by the time it is built!

Notwithstanding Council's scare-mongering campaign, the Mayor's Eddie-come-lately conversion to tunnels and the big turnout at the Tecumseh Council meeting, the groups have NOT been able to capture so far the hearts and minds of even their own community in my opinion.

I expect that the reason for that is easy to explain. The people along the corridor and the neighbouring subdivisions chose to buy a house there. They have lived with the trucks for years already. They just do not believe that their lives will be that much worse if the truck expressway is built and in fact their quality of life may well be improved.

All that most people wanted to know was whether their house was going to be expropriated. When they found out they were OK, they went back to their normal life. The border no longer was a concern to them.

As for Choosetunneling's head, one wonders if success similar to that of Councillor Brister's success, in being elected after getting all of the high-profile publicity as Chair of STOPDRTP, will rub off on him. Ironically he is campaigning for election in Ward 1 against Councillor Brister.

Still Working On My Next MFOIA move

I'll post here what I am going to do shortly.

It's Only Taxpayer Money

I just do not understand it. In Michigan, the State funds for DRIC for the new fiscal year have essentially been cut off when the Legislators passed a budget amendment and the Governor did not veto it.

You might think then that on our side there might be a slight pause to consider what the impact of this might mean for the DRIC project and, more importantly, for the spending of taxpayer money.

If there was a consideration, the answer is: just keep on spending.

Councillor Jones at the last Council meeting discussed that there would be drilling in Sandwich. The Star reported that

• "Two private firms contracted by the Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) team will drill 12 holes to a depth of about 400 metres to determine how the bedrock in the area has been affected by mining operations over the years."

What the Star did not report is that the cost of each of these holes, based on the reported costs of drilling on the other side, run to up to $1 million per hole.

Now it is NOT clear to me whether there is going to be drilling on the other side or not based on the State actions. I do know that there is a drilling schedule for the US side that has been announced. If the drilling goes ahead (since I believe MDOT may have the funds in its budget for this fiscal year) but the actions are viewed as being contrary to what the State has just passed, would MDOT and its bureaucrats be breaking the law and liable to prosecution?

Let us assume that MDOT decides NOT to do drilling. Then what is the point of us spending up to $12 million on drilling on our side alone and achieving a result. The results are of no value because we do not know what would be the result on the other side! What may work here may not work there.

I am sure that the rationale used for this illogical action is to let us do the testing on the Canadian side first to narrow down the location on the US side so that when they are allowed to do so, they can drill in the corresponding area only. So Canadians, you waste your money to preserve DRIC! And we will outwait those foolish Legislators who hopefully will not be re-elected so we can continue spending on our side!

We also learn again in the Star story that:

• "The area where the DRIC drilling and soil testing will take place stretches roughly from Sterling Fuels near Watkins and south to Prospect. It will occur between Sandwich Street and the riverfront...
  
  Another hurdle in the same industrial corridor for DRIC is that the best location in Delray for a bridge and plaza lines up roughly across from Watkins and the most heavily populated parts of Sandwich. The preferred choice on this side of the river -- Brighton Beach -- lines up across from the most valued section of Delray.
  
  It could mean a diagonal crossing or a more lengthy and costly S-type bridge may be required to satisfy residents on both sides."
  

In other words, we either spend a lot more money for an illogical bridge or destroy Sandwich or Delray.

Of course there is a way to avoid the spending up of to $12 million on our side and the equivalent on the US side and not have to destroy a Community:

Build a bridge right at the Ambassador Bridge site

In this case, we do not have to worry about salt mines, underwater pipelines and brine wells. The bridge would be located within the existing plazas on both sides of the river so no Community would be impacted. Moreoever, the Americans should be pleased because it works well for them and they have already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the Ambassador Gateway project that was designed for a twinned bridge as in Sarnia.

But that would be too simple wouldn't it?

There is a reason why this simple solution will never work. What it means is that a Canadian politician would actually have to make a decision on where the road to the bridge would have to go. Do you truly believe that any of our politicians at any level have the guts to do that? So instead of deciding anything, keep on spending taxpayer money and talk about quality of life for years and years to come.

Some Questions To Ask

Several interesting items were reported in the Star recently. I thought I should ask a few questions about them.

JANE BOYD

News stories about Jane Boyd and City Hall intrigue me. They have interesting aspects to them that are not directly related to her.

As an example, on July 14, 2004, we learned that Norma Coleman, wife of the Windsor Star's Editorial Page Editor, John Coleman, took a position similar to that of Jane in the office of Mayor Eddie Francis. Jane was described as the "right-hand woman" to two mayors so Norma's job must be quite important too. Her title is Chief of Staff.

Norma had been appointed in May and that appointment had never been reported by the Star until several months later. What was odd to me was that the appointment was set out in the last paragraph of a story in which it was disclosed that Jane was suing the City for wrongful termination.

I would have thought something as important as the appointment of a new Chief of Staff would have been set out in a separate story or, if it was not important, would not have been reported at all.

I could never figure out why her appointment was reported months after it happened and in such a manner.

To deal with the most recent story, Jane sued the City for $23,750. (The last story said the amount was $40,000) It appears that the matter has been settled, but taxpayers only found out in August that the deal was done in April. In December I had asked

• "Did Council offer Jane Boyd a settlement? Where is that matter now and if in litigation still, how much has it cost us so far?"

Two years of litigation does run up some considerable litigation fees. I wonder if it went to Examination for Discovery? If so, then it would be interesting to see how the Mayor acts when being examined by another lawyer. We know the "Perry Mason" traits of the Mayor when he cross-examines others---as he tried with Alan McKinnon in Tecumseh--but is he the same way when the shoe is on the other foot?

I wish we could find out the results but "The settlement won't be disclosed because both sides are bound by a confidentiality agreement." At the least the City should tell us what its legal costs were or do I have to file another MFOIA application?

Now Jane worked in Eddie's Office for a month or so after he was elected. The news stories were not clear who made the decision to terminate her services although the Star Editorial on the subject said "Mayor Eddie Francis decided to let her go."

I raise this because the settlement occurred because "The vote to settle was a tie broken by Mayor Eddie Francis" and we were told that Francis' "office oversaw the file." If the Mayor had NOT voted, a tie vote would have meant the Motion was defeated. In other words, if the Motion was to settle the case, a tied vote would have meant no settlement and the case would have gone on.

Who knows, if it had proceeded further, Eddie might have been forced to testify publicly at trial. Now that would have filled the Courtroom. By Eddie voting to break the tie, we now have a settlement and have been deprived of that.

In a case such as this where the Mayor may have taken the action that caused the City to be sued, is it the protocol that his office is allowed to run the lawsuit and that he can vote on settling it?

Oh well, it appears that all of the facts will never be known.

HURON LODGE

What a surprise. Another public project not meeting schedule and potentially going over-budget.

Huron Lodge was to be completed last November apparently but now, after a 9-month delay in completion, it is still not done. It was supposed to have been finished around this time. Accordingly, the city hired a lawyer from Toronto to "move (the project) along" whatever that means.

Here's what's interesting. More inaction by the City and failure to act promptly.

Back in June when the City negotiated the Cleary deal with St. Clair college, part of the deal included Huron Lodge:

• "the city can remain rent-free in the Huron Lodge nursing home -- which will be owned by the college as of July 1 -- while construction of the new nursing home is delayed for six months. Strasser said the rent would have cost the city about $1 million."

If the City knew there were problems in June, why did it wait until almost the end of August to hire a lawyer. If it did not know, then why not? According to Councillor Gignac "There's substantial work" to be done."

Presumably, if the new Huron Lodge is not completed during this 6 month "delay" period, the City may have to pay the College rent. I know what Councillor Zuk said "She said St. Clair College is "completely fine" with having its plans to take over the property pushed back." Does that mean no rent will be charged or, based on Pres. Strasser's numbers, the City would owe St. Clair about $170,000 a month?

It could be a nice way for the College to make a few extra dollars to help them in their move isn't it?

Is There Finally An Alternative Media Outlet

It is very clear that the mainstream media have to deal with Blogging as another competitor to them. In fact, if you go to the Windsor Star online, several of their writers have Blogs as well.

To be direct, I know from what you tell me that many of you read this BLOG with your morning coffee because you want to read a different point of view than that which you get in the Star or to get a different slant on an event that takes place in town.

There are a number of bloggers in the area who express their points of view online for the world to read. It has been difficult finding them ....until now.

• "Windsor Essex Speak http://www.windsoressexspeak.com is ready to launch.
  
  We Speak has been started with the goal of giving people in Windsor and Essex County an alternative voice - yours. We Speak is a blog aggregator featuring blogs from across Essex County. I have spent the last several months preparing the website and searching for local blogs to include on the blogroll.
  
  Stop in and see what your fellow local bloggers are talking about. There is a diverse group included on the roll, and hopefully with time this will continue to grow.
  
  If you like what you see, take some time today or over the next several days and blog about WE Speak. Let your friends and family know where to find the best blogs in Essex County!"

Working On My Next Step

You will see the result of my efforts shortly to get access to the MFOIA records.

Will Downtown Windsor Survive

I wrote a BLOG about the downtown a long time ago but never posted it. Circumstances were such that I had other matters to write about and I just kept putting it off. After reading Gord Henderson's column today and the remarks of Windsor businessman Larry Horwitz, it seemed appropriate to post it now.

What Larry has not realized (but what Henderson knows I am sure) is that all of what Larry is complaining about is deliberate but unspoken. It is to move the downtown eastward to our new downtown--the area around the Casino. Let Ouellette be stuck with kiddy bars and holes in the ground as the new Tunnel Plaza pushes tourists eastward and directs people to the new Windsor downtown.

Just wait until the announcement is made after the election about the building of Windsor's new signature City Hall to be built in the Casino neighbourhood. That will signal the official death of the existing downtown. After all, we spent $15,000 on an audit of the Income and Security Building telling us how to run big projects. And Councillor Valentinis told us at Council what a mess the existing City Hall is from an energy management perspective. PLUS all of that money coming in due to Eddie's financial genius year after year after year....

For those who missed it, here is the laundry list of what Horowitz says is wrong. I am sure the pattern should now be obvious:

1. taxes and draconian parking and smoking enforcement strangle small business and where initiatives drown in endless study.
2. Windsor is, in many ways, the architect of its own misfortune, and thinks it could do far more to attract the hundreds of thousands of Canadians in its southwestern Ontario backyard
3. given the foot-dragging over his proposal to block off tiny Maiden Lane in summer for a chess park, just how long it would take to get Windsor's main drag closed
4. Pelissier Street parking garage. A blight, with windows boarded up since early spring despite repeated pleas from merchants to fix them, it sucks life out of the street while city hall dithers over its future.
5. the surveillance cameras council approved last December and which some hoped could be in operation for the Super Bowl? Still working their way through the system.
6. Windsor destroyed two urban villages --the Norwich Block and the Western Super Anchor site -- and now it's offering developers incentives for a new urban village.
7. a costly riverfront festival plaza but located it so far from the core that it draws people away from downtown instead of pulling them in. Same with Charles Clark Square
8. the Ouellette Avenue streetscaping is more than two years behind schedule and counting.
9. government services building was a monumental ego trip, erected in a city which already had a glut of cheap office space and diverted government employees and clients away from Ouellette.

=========================================================

Is the downtown dead or can it be brought back to life? Is Ouellette Avenue still the centre of downtown or has it already moved eastward but we have not recognized it? As I have said before, in my view, facetiously, Mark Boscariol's restaurants are now our Western Super Anchor.

DWBIA will hate me but I rarely patronize the downtown shops or restaurants. As you will readily see, I have not even attended any of the events in the downtown at the Festival Plaza. In fact, I did not even know that site existed until a few days ago.

It was not always like this. When I first came to Windsor about 20 years ago, the downtown was very vibrant and exciting with lots of interesting shops, including fur stores on every corner it seemed. I really was quite pleasantly surprised.

Then the auto industry had a massive downturn, offices relocated away from the central core, the Casino did not bring the business that many owners thought it would and the downtown suffered. We have a central core where prime office space at Canderel is virtually given away and the office vacancy rate is around 30-50% depending on how you do the calculation. It is so bad that two major parking garages are in receivership and many spots are for rent.

I came downtown with my wife on Boxing Day last year to take advantage of the sales. We did not last very long. We were about the only ones on the street as well it seemed.

I finally understood why the crowds on Fireworks night seemed so small to me. When I first came here, the area where I watched the fireworks, around the Hilton, was jam packed with people. I don't like crowds all that much so started to watch it on TV for many years. About 3 or 4 years ago, I was invited to a party on the river and so came back. What surprised me for several years was the size of the crowds around the Hilton, certainly not what I remembered.

This year I found out why! I was early for the party and so wanted to take a look at the Midway to pass the time. It wasn't where I thought it was, but much further east, nearer to the Casino. Not close to the existing downtown as far as I was concerned. I did not understand it at all until I did some research into Festival Plaza.

I tell you all of this because I saw a full-page ad in the Star last Saturday that the DWBIA ran. It's the second time they have run the ad too. I hope at least DWBIA got a big discount on it. Appropriately, it was part of Section D of the Star ie the births and deaths section. I thought that was a fitting location for Windsor's downtown. It was wrapped around the obituary section of the paper if you are pessimistic about the downtown or the celebration section if you are optimistic.

For myself, I looked at the ad as a "political" piece; I thought that the E-machine wrote it! My first thought was that this was Eddie Francis calling in an IOU for bringing St. Clair downtown. That was supposed to be what the DWBIA said it needed and received so pay up.

I know that DWBIA has to bring people back downtown, people like me who have deserted it. I know that DWBIA has to make downtown exciting since Americans are staying away in droves because of the higher dollar and fears of traffic backups. But really...giving people false expectations won't accomplish what DWBIA is trying to do.

I am not trying to be critical, honest. We need an excting downtown here if we are to survive. And no one is trying harder and taking more imaginative action than DWBIA. I know that DWBIA has to take a positive spin but this ad made me gag!

I must admit that I was shocked that the Keg did not get a bigger spotlight in the ad since that seemed to be the beacon that is going to attract the investors that are going to re-vitalize the downtown. I guess that pitch has been overplayed (never mind that we still do not know the details of the parking deal in the underground garage!)

So here is what is helping the downtown's rebirth according to the ad:

1. 16 new businesses opened, but how many closed?
2. Downtown Farmers' market. There were 7 vendors the first weekend with spots available for up to 22. Crowds totalled over 6,000 for all of June. However, about 2300 of them came the first weekend. How many really came in the hope of seeing Councillor Zuk do her dance?
3. Streetscaping on Ouellette amd cosmetic enhancements but ask the DWBIA how long it will take the City to complete the job!
4. The Bus depot..you mean the one that is a fraction of the size it first was supposed to be? You mean the one that was supposed to be built for Super Bowl in Detroit? Oh you mean the funky one
5. St. Clair relocation of an "estimated 1,000 people." I truly hope that whoever is doing the number crunching is not the one who did the Super Bowl figures for the Mayor, you know the $100 million that turned into a small fraction of that. Now they are not coming until September, 2007, a year from now, since it will take several months for the lawyers to do the contract work. Read the comment on my BLOG June 16, 2006 "The Marketing Of The Cleary Deal" for an interesting perspective.
6. Urban village. That was Bill Marra's idea when he was on Council. He chaired that committee. How many years have we been talking about it and we have not even sent out the RFPs yet
7. The $400 million Casino complex... the old one sure revitalized the downtown didn't it! I thought that Casino doors only allow people to enter, not to exit! Anyway, with the retail shops moving to the Casino area, who needs to go to the kiddie bar area.
8. No smoking...sure businesses embraced it, what choice did they have? It will be interesting what happens in 6 months. How much has the City been able to get so far from the Province to help out our businesses? We can use Slush Fund money for unexpected pandemic plans but there is no money for our downtown businesses who are facing disasters.

If I were a business person downtown, I would have been screaming bloody murder about the midway moving away and festivals taking place in front of the Casino as part of a shift. I'd be screaming that we have lost thousands of jobs and have people moving out of town for new ones and our Economic Development Commission has not even appointed a new CEO yet (according to Ken Lewenza on Face-to-Face the other day). I'd be screaming about City Hall undercutting the commercial real estate market with its Canderel deal and competing as a landlord. I'd be screaming that without jobs and people no one will ever live in an urban village. I'd be screaming that we are cozying up too much to the Mayor and Council and not demanding more and in a timely fashion.

You know, I'd just be screaming until real action was taken! Perhaps nothing will happen until we have a Mayor and Council that really believe in our downtown

A Perfect EA Storm

What could have prompted the Mayor, with the active participation of the Province, to decide to announce an Environmental Assessment for the lands west of Huron Church at this time? Why not before, after all of the many comments made about the need for a full environmental assessment by the Mayor?

Frankly, it makes little sense to me except if you look at it in one way. It's all a turf war. A big inter-governmental battle is about to be fought now that Bill C-3 has passed in the House of Commons. That has to be why Brian Masse tried so hard and failed so miserably to get City of Windsor amendments passed when the Bill was in hearings. That's why Brian was so insistent about the right of local Government to be involved in decisions and to be consulted on border matters.

Who will control the Windsor border crossing: the Feds who have constitutional responsibility or the Province and Eddie who want the money that they think the border will bring them and who will control the border as the operator. If in the process the Ambassador Bridge suffers financially, well that is a bonus for them.

The other bitter and obsessed old man would say that it takes Eddie months to do anything, if he ever does, so why be suprised that it has taken almost 16 months after the money was set aside by the Province for him to act.

An Eddie booster would say that Eddie never hurries since he is a legal technocrat and wants to ensure that the proper process has been followed, that everything is thought out clearly and that everything is in place before he acts. He works to his timetable not to that of others.

They are both right but there is more, much more. A variety of forces make this the ideal time to act.

Just a bit more background to help you out. As I said yesterday, the Province back on April 20, 2005 announced that the province was willing to fund the municipal environmental assessment study and detailed work for a Huron Church Road truck bypass in Windsor. In case you forgot, the next day, on the 21st, the Mayor and Council "snubbed" the Senior Levels. They had offered Windsor environmental assessments and detailed designs for improvements to Highway 3/Talbot Road from Highway 401 to Todd Lane, to upgrade and extend Lauzon Parkway, from Highway 401 to E.C. Row; and to upgrade Manning Road from Highway 401 to County Road 22, including the interchange at Highway 401, in the County of Essex."

Here is what Eddie said on April 26, 2005

• " Last week, the mayor and city council snubbed a federal- provincial border announcement made by Premier Dalton McGuinty and Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, dismissing it as $21 million in studies for a $1-billion problem.
  
  Francis lashed out at Ottawa for refusing to OK its share of a $300-million truck bypass that the province had approved the day before.
  
  On Monday, he defended council's boycott of the announcement.
  
  "if that announcement had included a commitment to fund construction, we would have been there," he said.
  
  "But a commitment to fund some studies that might result in 500 trucks an hour entering the E.C. Row Expressway is not a commitment to fund construction and we could not be a party to that."

Don't you find it strange that no EA was announced right then and there? Don't you find it strange about the praise given to the Province, the attack on the $21M for an EA but not a word about the Takhar EA money. Don't you find it strange the night before the big Senior Levels meeting in Windsor, the Ontario government said it would provide up to $150 million for the construction of the Schwartz truck bypass, the one which the Federal Government consultant later would shoot down in flames. This was just after the 500 Million dollar man Dwight Duncan had said that "more money will soon be made available from the province to fix Windsor's border-crossing problems" at a speech in Windsor about a week before. [The Takhar offer was "good politics" but as Henderson put it "that commitment remains empty with Ottawa refusing to fund the other half."]

I noticed that the Mayor has talked about environmental assessments many times after April, 2005. Why didn't he act then but instead wait until now. He had the opportunities. Let me give a few examples

On May 14, he said

• "Mayor Eddie Francis insists city council is committed to an environmental assessment process that ensures no project proceeds unless it can be demonstrated it won't have a negative impact. People think we're going to plow a road through environmental lands. That's not what Sam's report talks about," says Francis. Council favours a full EA that meets requirements of both provincial and federal regulations -- the most stringent possible."

On July 19,

• "The mayor suggested having the feds review the city's border blueprint is redundant, since "all elements of the Schwartz plan will be subject to a full and comprehensive environmental assessment."

On January 18, 2006

• "We want to see every option explored, including tunneling or anything that would basically see the trucks buried," Francis said. "It would improve the environment, quality of life and allow trucks to move more freely toward the border."

On February 17,

• "Mayor Eddie Francis is calling attention to the environmental impact of a potential border traffic feeder route leading to the new plaza and crossing. City council is concerned the DRIC team is on the verge of calling for a major at-grade expansion of the Talbot Road-Huron Church corridor as its solution to the local border traffic problems, he said."
  
  

On March 23

• "City council will demand at a special meeting tonight that provincial authorities conduct an environmental assessment on a three-kilometre zone west of Huron Church Road to find a new route that takes international trucks away from South Windsor subdivisions.

On March 28

• Francis said "the city is continuing its call for a full environmental assessment which might help identify alternative routes."

Sources have told me that the Mayor was deeply involved with the Province in secret discussions about the EA back in March but that the talks seemed to end with nothing resolved. The Province offered in the range of $4-5M for an EA but that was viewed by some as inadequate for the full EA desired.

With all of these statements and with money already allocated, why didn't the Mayor act before? Why now?

It is a perfect storm. All the forces are there and have come together so well now. Let me give you a number of reasons. The EA realistically could only be set up now to accomplish the objectives of Eddie and the Province:

1) It's Election time

How do you defend 3 years of inaction and total failure on the Schwartz Report while pretending you are doing something. Simple, set up an EA (You did what the Council resolution said you must do, check mark granted). Because lawyers are now involved, you cannot speak about it because of solicitor-client privilege. No one can dare question you about it and if they do, you have a non-answer answer and who could can argue with that!

2) Block the Ambassador Bridge's enhancement program

Everyone knows that the Bridge Co. is going to move forward and have their enhancement project completed before a shovel is put into the ground for the bureaucrat favoured public bridge. The only way to try and stop them is to delay them. So throw another several years long "full and comprehensive" EA project their way after having them involved in DRIC for years just to throw them out! This time it is for by-pass roads to the border that will tie onto where the bureaucrats want the new bridge to go. Of course EVERY alternative will have to be examined fully including those in LaSalle to drive them nuts. Who knows, LaSalle might choose to litigate to tie this up in the courts forever!

3) Hope that the Bridge Co. sues

Keep on egging them on to sue since that will confirm in everyone's minds that they are the "bad guys" preventing a border solution. Make them the ones who are the border problem rather than what they are: the border solution. After all, Eddie must be tired of everyone pointing at him saying that he is the one stalling new infrastructure work in Windsor and the spending of $300M BIF monies. [Imagine, Coco Paving doing the Sarnia job instead of doing one in Windsor!]. And "bad guys" should not be allowed to build enhancement projects should they!

How many more anti-Bridge Co. actions will it take before they say enough and litigate so that the bureaucrats can get their bridge started.

4) Divert attention away from Eddie's Main Interest

Eddie wants to do a deal on the Tunnel although the front page Star story about the drop in revenues may be the straw that broke the camel's back for anyone interested in doing so. What investor would want to take a chance when ther are so many other bettr deals around? Trying to do a deal is what he has been doing for the past few months in secret. Work together with the Province on this too to pressure the Feds to put money in. After all the $30 million for Tunnel Plaza improvements should only be viewed as a down-payment.

Talk about quality of life, tunnels, get DRTP mad, send out scare letters, flog the Schwartz Report (who cares what it says), get neighbourhoods fighting neighbourhoods, attack DRIC----it does not matter. Just make sure no one follows what is going on at the Tunnel.

5) Allow Eddie and the Province to own and control the crossings

This is what the EAing is really all about. I will be discussing this subject in more detail in another BLOG, but if you read the paper on Ontario's position on infrastructure, it is clear that the Province wants to "own" the Bridge. That ties in with Eddie's ambitions about the Tunnel and, in my opinion, his long-term new bridge ambitions. [Watch their uneasy alliance collapse if their goals are accomplished]. For both of them, the common enemy is the Government that controls anything to do with international crossings and the Government that has money to spend that they want for infrastructure: the Feds. Their method is to create animosity directed against the Ambassador Bridge Co.

Each of the two lower level governments has their own objective. The object is to isolate the Feds and force them into doing what the 2 parties want. Therefore, they are working together, not necessarily as friends, but together as against a common enemy. There is no other way to explain the total breach of protocol in the Province putting forward their $150M Schwartz solution funding the day before the "snub" meeting. There is no other way to explain Eddie's praise of the Province. There is no other way to explain what is going on in municipal politics either.

They are both gambling that Bill C-3 will stop the Bridge Co. and that the Feds can still be pushed around on "Government Oversight." So far, the Fed's bark is worse than their bite. They must have known for years about the Tunnel's unique security problem but have done nothing to force Eddie to correct it. They have not dealt effectively with the City's overruns on projects. They are sitting by as millions will be wasted on theTunnel Plaza Improvements. They are being pushed around and reacting to the Tunnelleers.

6) Wreck the DRIC

I am NOT going to explain this one but obviously a good legal mind is behind it. No wonder the City is the proponent and not the Province. The Province would not dare. Why make it so obvious? In this way, the Province who is footing the EA bill has plausible deniability as Eddie is front and centre. His tough talk will help his career ambitions as well so he does not mind.

With their common border éminence grise advising both of them, it will be fascinating to watch if the Feds wake up or continue to drift as another election might take place. If you do not think that election politics will have an important role to play in this--on both sides of the border---by the time it is done, then you do not understand how border battles are won and lost. Been there. Done that!

Too Many Tasks, Too Few Hours

Working on my next move with the City amongst tracking down exclusive BLOG information for your enjoyment and eddiefication!

Today--$44 Million For Sarnia, $0 For Windsor

Canada And Ontario Improving Highway 402 Leading To Sarnia
402 Improvements Mean Reduced Congestion For Ontarians

LONDON, ON, Aug. 23 /CNW/ - Federal Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon and Ontario Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield today announced the start of a project to rebuild Highway 402 east of Sarnia to improve traffic flow and safety.

"Highway 402 is an important international trade corridor for Canada," said Minister Cannon. "The reconstruction of this segment of highway will improve the overall operation of the corridor and the safety of both commercial drivers and travellers."

"The future of our province depends on the success of the Ontario economy," said Minister Cansfield. "Highway 402 leads to one of Canada's top three busiest border crossings with 4,900 trucks and $127 million worth of goods crossing the Sarnia border each day. That adds up to about $46 billion in imports and exports every year. We want to safely move people and goods
faster, create jobs and build a stronger economy."

Coco Paving Group was awarded the project and has recently commenced construction. Work is expected to be complete by late 2008. This investment of more than $44 million is being cost-shared by the governments of Canada and Ontario.

Improvements to Highway 402, east of Sarnia, from west of Mandaumin Road (Interchange 15) easterly to east of Oil Heritage Road (Interchange 25) will improve traffic flow and safety in the area. Improvements on this 12-kilometre stretch of Highway 402 include:

<< - Rebuilding eastbound and westbound lanes on Highway 402; - Repairing two bridges on Highway 402; - Repairing three bridges over Highway 402; - New lighting and upgraded highway signs; and - Upgrading Sarnia South Truck Inspection Station to a new Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility configuration that provides a safer and more efficient facility for inspectors and the trucking industry. >>

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing $323 million to improve highways and border crossings in Sarnia, Niagara and London.

The Government of Canada's funding for this project comes from the $600 million Border Infrastructure Fund. The fund is designed to contribute to projects that reduce border congestion, improve the flow of goods and services, and expand infrastructure over the medium-term.

This year, the Government of Ontario is investing over $1.4 billion in highway improvements through its five-year ReNew Ontario infrastructure investment plan. This investment will strengthen Ontario's economic advantage and create opportunities for Ontario businesses and people.

People Based Budget--By Phone

I saw this story in the Star recently and while I found it odd, I did not think much of it. However, as usual, a reader wrote to me about it and asked my views of it. So I started to think about it.

• Satisfaction survey
  Published: Tuesday, August 01, 2006
  
  In preparation for the 2007 city operating and capital budgets, the University of Windsor is conducting a telephone survey on behalf of the city beginning today and continuing for the next two weeks.
  
  The survey, conducted by university students, will be statistically valid and find out from Windsor residents what their priorities are and how satisfied they are with municipal programs and services.
  
  "This information can be used by city council to make funding decisions during the upcoming budget process," said Onorio Colucci, city treasurer."
  
  

I thought it odd that Council all of a sudden cared what citizens had to say about the budget for next year. I must admit I did not recall this type of action being done before.

Remember what I wrote about the People based budget before:

• "Whatever happened to the People Based Budget process that seemed to work so well last year? Whatever happened to the "web site and an interactive online survey that not only provided citizens with relevant budget information but enabled them to give their opinions and rank their priorities."
  
  

Remember what the Mayor said in his State of the City speech:

• "And the People-Based Budget will not be a one-year wonder!
  
  It will be back next year, when it will feed into our zero-based budget. Having public input into our zero-based budget process will truly yield more effective – and efficient – city government."
  
  

Here is what Councillor Postma said in December 2005:

• "What ever happened to People Based budgeting? How are citizens going to learn what the cuts really mean? We did not even advertise our meetings....
  
  I am greatly disappointed that some of my esteemed colleagues have labelled this Council as being at war with spenders vs. savers, good vs. evil, guardians of good vs. guardians of the public purse etc. There are many ways to stretch the truth to make yourself sound better than others, however all actions or mis-actions have an impact, some that you may not notice today but you certainly will in the future. Smoke and mirrors - I truly look forward to educating the public on the budget in an open truly people based process."

Councillor Lewenza gave the justification for killing the process:

• "Looking back on the people based budget, I witnessed minimal value in allowing the exercise aside from allowing citizens to express themselves and for allotting city councillors the privilege to mingle with their constituents."
  
  

I thought it even stranger that the work would be done now and not say, in November, since several of the Council members won't be around next year after the November election. Perhaps next year's Council would have a different opinion as to the budget process so why waste money doing a "telephone survey" on "what their priorities are and how satisfied they are with municipal programs and services."

Then it hit me---this had nothing to do with the budget but everything to do with getting the pulse of the public for the election and at taxpayer expense. Don't go out and hire your own polling firm when the City will do the work for the Mayor and Council. What wonderful information that the Mayor and Council will have in advance so that they can do their electioneering and give the people what they want.

Clearly, they are in panic mode at City Hall knowing what trouble most of them are in since the focus of the election will be in the wards if no one challenges Eddie.

Just try and get the results too. And some people think they can beat incumbents.

Eddie And The Province Challenge The Feds

The denials are everywhere it seems. No one knows anything apparently. No wonder given the potential fall-out.

The Blogmeister has learned exclusively that a big border announcement is only days away from being made by the City and the Province. Word is that a two-party, joint announcement will be made about an Environmental Assessment for the lands west of Huron Church Road. Interestingly, the Federal Government will not be a participant of what is being told to the public. Luckily it is being made now, just in time for the municipal election.

For face saving purposes, the three parties may tie it into the DRIC drilling program which Councillor Jones revealed at Council on Monday. This is a multi-million drilling project that is only being done it appears on the Canadian side of the river due to the Michigan Legislators' actions on the other side cutting off DRIC funding.

Obviously, I do not have the exact details since no official words have been put to paper yet for a press release. It all goes back to a secret meeting held with the Mayor and several provincial officials back in March, 2006.

What is bizarre about all of this is that there has been an EA going on for years already. It's called DRIC! The announcement will say that this new EA is non-DRIC related, again as a tactical measure. I suspect that it will be put this way:

• "The City and Provincial Governments have decided to proceed with other additional, faster solutions recommended by Schwartz in his $1-billion plan, said Mayor Eddie Francis, such as improvements to rail and ferry transportation and a Huron Church Road bypass.
  
  "Regardless of what the binational may come up with, you still need to improve the situation on Huron Church," he said. "You need to get trucks off city streets, and you need to provide better connections to the existing crossings, and a bypass road does that."
  
  

Taking you back in time, the Provincial monies come from this program announced by the then Transport Minister:

• "TORONTO, April 20, 2005 /CNW/ - The Honourable Harinder Takhar, Ontario Minister of Transportation, today announced that the province is willing to fund the municipal environmental assessment study and detailed work for a Huron Church Road truck bypass in Windsor, as proposed in the Schwartz Report...Pending the approval of the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment study, the Ontario government will also provide up to $150 million for the construction of the truck bypass."

Of course you remember how Cansult demolished the Schwartz Horseshoe Road by-pass in September, 2005. But never fear, our Council in the Tecumseh Council meeting passed a resolution on March 23, 2006 stating:

• "That City Council, in response to the DRICP Area of Continued Analysis,
  
  ENDORSES the Schwartz/Estrin Proposal, which includes
  -tunneling under Talbot Road from Highway 401 to Todd Lane, with a full environmental assessment in terms of all alternatives west of Huron Church Road,
  -removal of international truck traffic off of city streets, including Huron Church Road and E.C. Row Expressway,"

So now it comes to fruition. I'll tell you what this really all means in another BLOG. Right now, let me say to you that this is a direct challenge by the City and the Province to the authority of the Federal Government, especially their powers under Bill C-3.

For purely political reasons, the City will be the proponent. The Province wants to pretend that it is just going along for the ride. Because of the Provincial commitment to fund, technically, the City can proceed at anytime, but they would not dare do so without the backing of the Province. Eddie is not that brave, nor that foolish for his next career move, to take on both levels of Government.

How will the Feds react? They made a big show of taking back the powers over international bridges and tunnels during the Bill C-3 Commons hearings. Let them walk the talk now when Ontario challenges them over Windsor. I wonder if they have the guts to take on a fight. Or will they cave as they have so far to let the Windsor Mayor hold hostage the most important border crossing in Canada.

I am so thrilled that Windsorites' futures are a mere pawn in the Inter-provincial battle between Ontario and Canada for supremacy. Eddie Francis, of course, is playing both sides against each other in the hope that someone will salvage his Tunnel! Unfortunately, that cannot happen after the last Council meeting revealed its disastrous financial shape after three years of his Chairmanship.

At the least, he has won the admiration of his colleagues on Council. When they are attacked on their failure on the border they can point to the EA, the phony talk about tunnels and quality of life and then close the discussion by saying it is under the legal process--solicitor-client privilege and all that stuff.

Tree-hugger 101

Eddie and the other levels of Government should learn to make nice with tree-huggers! While being friendly is the right thing to do , politicians should understand that environmentalists have vast resources and people they can draw upon across North America to make politicians'lives hell. And they do NOT go away. They can get out their numbers in short order and have the facility to inundate with letters, emails and phone calls.

There is no doubt that if my City EA BLOG is correct, then Ojibway is at risk. Everyone knows it and knows that there will be a war. I hope the Mayor and Council understand the consequences in an election year of holding an EA where the target is Ojibway even if it is an underground tunnel.

The whole debate is becoming absurd when pollution control devices on trucks and new fuels are being developed.

Politically, there will be games played to try and split the ranks of the environmentalists...like the Green Party endorsing Schwartz. I would be shocked if anyone in the Green Movement would fall for that this time around.

Here is a letter sent to the Carolinian Canada Newsletter that proves my point. Note the tunnel reference.

• Lorraine Johnson
  Editor, Carolinian Canada newsletter
  
  Dear Ms. Johnson:
  
  I read your fine article in the Spring edition of Carolinian Canada about the impact of a truck bypass in Ojibway Complex in west Windsor. One particular statement leaped off the page. The mayor of Windsor "does not rule out a tunnel underneath a portion of Ojibway." This has been his mantra since the release of the Schwartz Report in January 2005.
  
  Notwithstanding the fact that the federally financed Cansult Report released in 2005 declared tunneling too expensive ($300 million), any truck route incursion would damage important ecosystems found in the Ojibway Prairie Remnants Area of Natural and
  Scientific Interest (ANSI). It consists of Ojibway Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve, Ojibway Park Tallgrass Prairie Heritage Park, Black Oak Heritage Park and Spring Garden Natural Area.
  
  As Carolinian Canada is aware, these lands are special because they contain the last and largest remnants of the original landscape of this region. What is found
  here is found nowhere else. It has richer biodiversity than Walpole Island, Point Pelee or Pelee Island.
  
  Rare animals and birds take refuge in this ecosystem. Over 117 plants considered species at risk thrive in this remarkable ecosystem. Governments at all levels
  and private conservation organizations have cooperated to identify, purchase and protect the Ojibway Complex.
  
  Some fear the tunneling suggestion will result in a "compromise"---a road at grade level. This too would be devastating to the Complex ecosystem. Any route whether above or below these areas would impact them by changing the water table and damaging root systems, setting aside all the devastation of the construction process itself.
  
  Finally, substantial expenditures of public money have been made in order to protect these environmentally sensitive areas from development by their former owners. For the public sector to implement the Schwartz proposal would be a gross violation of public trust.
  
  Best wishes to you and the staff at Carolinian Canada.
  
  Yours for a better environment,
  
  Public Advisory Council of the Detroit River Canadian Cleanup

My Next Step

In case you did not see the comment yesterday, here is what one reader suggested I do about my MFOIA application. It was an interesting response that I wanted to post for your amusement:

• "Tell you what...run for Mayor and I am certain YOU will win... and then you can access to the records and not pay a penny...that's what I would do."

Any other suggestions?

Is The Tunnel Headed To Financial Disaster

It's a good thing for taxpayers that Councillor Gignac was Acting Mayor last night at Council. A lot more was revealed than would have been permitted if Eddie was in the Chair. He may regret being in France so long.

We are starting to learn slowly but surely the mess that the Tunnel is in. You remember, what Councillor Brister has known about for over a year and mentioned to Gord Henderson but refused to tell his constituents about.

We are now getting an inkling why Councillor Lewenza said that next year's budget may see an increase in taxes or a reduction in services compared with this year's "election budget." We know that over $6 million more will have to come out of the pockets of taxpayers because of the Tunnel mess!

I truly could not believe what I was hearing last night at Council. The shocking news was NOT reported in the Windsor Star so far. The City's "cash cow" has become a "cash drain" on City finances. The consequences are a serious financial problem for taxpayers since taxes may have to be increased next year and a blow to the grand ambitions of the Mayor

I never picked up a hint of the problem before, especially not at the Joint Councils meeting where everything was pictured in such a glowing fashion. It was definitely not mentioned in the mid-summer discussions between the cities about a Windsor-Detroit deal.

In a very brief exchange between Councillor Halberstadt and the City's Treasurer, Onorio Colucci, that I watched last night on TV during the discussion on approving the City's Accounts, I learned in horror that:

1. the City will NOT get the $3.4M capital dividend that it received in the past from the Tunnel's revenues PLUS
2. the $3.2M operating dividend that the City received in the past from the Tunnel's revenues is at risk (I learned subsequently that it appears the operating dividend may disappear in 2007) PLUS
3. due to the "pay-as-you-go" financial approach the Windsor Tunnel Commission may have to borrow money from the City's capital reserve fund to pay the $12-14M for the ongoing costs for the Tunnel Ventilation building that have sky-rocketed! That sum will not be paid back for years. (Of course the City will be so thrilled that it generates interest income from its non-arm's length subsidiary)

Pooooooof...almost $6.6 million dollars gone that taxpayers will have to make up PLUS interest on a City loan AND a depletion of the reserve fund that is not strong in the first place for a City our size! Is this the financial strength of Windsor that the Mayor and Council have been bragging about? This was their pride and joy. If so, we are in more trouble than I thought.

It would have been interesting if the Mayor was there as Chair of the Council meeting to see if he would have tried to cut off the Councillor as this financial disaster was being disclosed for the first time. After all, to whom can the "Teflon"Mayor pass the blame now since he is the Chair of WTC. It sticks to him this time around! He made the financial decisions that failed in attracting revenues and volumes.

Over the past few weeks I have posted on the increasing problems at the Tunnel: its "unique" security risk, its failure to meet US Customs requirements, its sharply decreasing volume numbers, its failure to raise tolls in a timely manner, its waste of $30 million for a Tunnel Plaza parking lot. Never in my wildest imagination did I conceive that the Tunnel may be heading for financial disaster, or worse!

I have no idea how the Tunnel finances got this way. Oh we will hear the excuses about SARS, the Canadian dollar, terrorists, passports and all of that. Why then has the Bridge survived and successsfully competed against the Tunnel even though the Tunnel's fare into Detroit was substantially lower. And after the toll was increased by Eddie in July, the Tunnel took a huge hit in numbers.

It's not my job to figure why the Tunnel is a mess either. Just look at what happened with my MFOIA when I asked Tunnel questions. That's the job of the WTC Board especially its Councillor members Brister, Cassivi and Valentinis. They should be demanding answers immediately. They should be demanding an audit immediately to explain how the Tunnel finances deteriorated so quickly. If Council can get so upset and spend $65,000 for KPMG to do an operational audit at the Windsor Library Board where there were few problems, then Councillors better get off their collective rear ends and do something at the Tunnel.

In the end, only one person must take responsibility for the Tunnel fiasco. The Mayor. His head ought to be on the chopping block. Instead of keeping his eye on the ball and watching the day-to-day operations of theTunnel, he dreamed BIG. He had visions of being a big border operator and pulling off the financial coup of the season in Windsor. It was not for him to look after mere details such as pricing and profits and losses. Nope, it was much more exciting being an entrepreneur with no risk since he was playing with Taxpayers' money.

The WTC Board now has the responsibility to determine if Eddie should keep his job or be asked to resign immediately or be fired!

Eddie's grand ambition, his Tunnel PLAN. Who would want to finance the Tunnel now? Financially it is a disaster, it faces huge capital expenses, it has security problems. Do you really think that Detroit would want Eddie as a partner now? A month ago, there were discussions of a $6.6M dividend. A mere month later, it is almost all gone.

Transportation is not good for the Mayor. The Border was first. Imagine if the $300 Million goes because of lack of City action. Then we had the bus terminal fiasco with a deal that makes no sense. Now the Tunnel. Hmmm I wonder if the City-owned airport is next!

We are just scratching the surface of this and other financial problems in Windsor. When will a Councillor have the guts to spill the beans on Enwin!

There is more to come at the Tunnel I am sure.

Life is peculiar. The more the saga of the Tunnel continues, the more that Detroit's Deputy Mayor, Anthony Adams, is looking like the smartest man around respecting the Tunnel. Too bad no one wanted to listen to him!

Dennis Vs. Buzz

Here is some more ammunition for you to help you understand the state of the automobile business in Canada. Certainly, it is crucial for us in Windsor. Do our local politicians have to start making some tough decisions about going after the business of the "non-union" Imports the way the Michigan Governor is doing or do they fear the wrath of the CAW voters? Is there some other solution that can help us?

Want to bet whether this subject will be an issue in the municipal election campaign?

In a CTV news story the other day about the Ford layoffs, Buzz Hargrove said,

• "Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, told CTV Newsnet the union is working to avoid more job loss.
  
  "We're worried that there is more to come," Hargrove said.
  
  "We're working with Ford, trying to find a commitment for the St. Thomas assembly plant. We're working to ensure the commitment they made to us in bargaining last fall for a new engine project in Windsor is going to continue on. But there's so much uncertainty as Ford continues to lose market share to the imports, we just have to keep working with them."
  
  Hargrove blamed unfair trade rules that bar North American producers from selling vehicles in Japan or Korea, but allow those countries to ship "literally millions" of vehicles to be sold in Canada.
  
  He said General Motors and Chrysler are also losing market share to foreign imports.
  
  "So until our government comes to grips with this unfair one-way trade situation, you're going to see a continuation of this loss of market share."
  

Dennis DesRosiers differed with that comment and wrote to me providing to me the data above and stating:

• "And I say, thank goodness most of those import nameplate products are built in North America. Buzz doesn't understand that the problem is not that Japanese or Korean consumers are unfairly being prevented from purchasing GM, Ford and DCX product. The problem is that Canadians and Americans aren't buying GM, Ford or DCX product.
  
  Dennis
  
  See attached table that documents sales by source. import nameplates sell more vehicles in Canada made in North America than they sell that are imported. They certainly don't sell "literally millions"