DRIC Bushwacking

You watched the hockey and/or basketball game while I watched City Council until after 11:30 p.m. Who was smarter and who got more out of the evening?

My reaction to the meeting will come in a BLOG tomorrow afternoon. It will not be a long BLOG since last night was not a meeting to try to resolve differences but to demonstrate what our Mayor wanted to show are DRIC shortcomings with respect to Greenlink for whatever good that's going to be in the end.

There was no better demonstration of why Councillors are irrelevant in this City than in the Mayor's performance last night. They should be ashamed of themselves for permitting him to do what he did.

More about that tomorrow and what the meeting accomplished.

More News Of Interest

So many interesting tidbits of news

IN DEFENCE OF NEPOTISM

Parliamentary expert Ned Franks, professor emeritus at Queen's University stated:

• "...the hiring of family members is still a common practice in the public service, he says, and it's not surprising that it happens on the political side of government, where the hiring process is largely unregulated.
  
  "A good case can be made that you want to get people who have the same beliefs as you, and who you know and trust."

If you cannot trust your relatives and friends, then who can you trust right?

Next thing we will hear is that "honest graft" is ok too, just like with Tammany Hall:

• "Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft"
  Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics
  by Senator Plunkitt of Tammany Hall
  
  "EVERYBODY is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. There's all the difference in the world between the two. Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin' richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft - blackmailin' gamblers, saloonkeepers, disorderly people, etc. - and neither has any of the men who have made big fortunes in politics.
  
  There's an honest graft, and I'm an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by sayin': "I seen my opportunities and I took 'em."
  
  Just let me explain by examples. My party's in power in the city, and it's goin' to undertake a lot of public improvements. Well, I'm tipped off, say, that they're going to layout a new park at a certain place. I see my opportunity and I take it. I go to that place and I buy up all the land I can in the neighborhood. Then the board of this or that makes its plan public, and there is a rush to get my land, which nobody cared particular for before.
  
  Ain't it perfectly honest to charge a good price and make a profit on my investment and foresight? of course, it is. Well, that's honest graft.
  
  Or supposin' it's a new bridge they're goin' to build. I get tipped off and I buy as much property as I can that has to be taken for approaches. I sell at my own price later on and drop some more money in the bank.
  
  Wouldn't you? It's just like lookin' ahead in Wall Street or in the coffee or cotton market. It's honest graft, and I'm lookin' for it every day in the year. I will tell you frankly that I've got a good lot of it, too."

BORDER JOBS FOR MICHIGAN

What would the Bridge Co's Enhancement Project mean for Michigan. Aside from enhancing its trade and economy, in the short-term it means thousands of jobs. The $250M Ambassador Gatgeway Project will create about 2,800 jobs by the time it is done.

I saw this story which interested me about the Michigan Governor moving forward on road projects to create needed employment:

• "Governor Granholm announced that 34 road projects across Michigan will be accelerated from the 2009 construction season to 2008, creating 2,100 new jobs in Michigan. The announcement is one piece of the governor's economic stimulus package that she unveiled in her recent State of the State address. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is accelerating almost $150 million in road and bridge projects, creating jobs in planning, engineering and construction."
  
• "The original 2008 program for road and bridge improvements in the Metro Region will provide $148 million in repairs to 125 miles of pavement and $70 million to rehabilitate 65 bridges. The 2008 program includes an additional $88 million for seven projects advanced from future years as part of Governor Jennifer M. Granholm's economic stimulus package. Statewide, MDOT is accelerating nearly $150 million in road and bridge projects that will create an estimated 2,100 jobs. About 1,200 of those jobs will be created in the Metropolitan Detroit area."

Clearly the DRIC project will produce jobs in Michigan if it goes forward. However, if the privately-funded Enhancement Project goes forward, Federal matching grants will produce extra billions of dollars of grants from the Federal Government that can be used for road projects in Michigan. If $150M produces 2,100 jobs, think of how many $2B will produce!

Something for a Michigan legislator to consider.

GOVERNMENT PROJECTS

Isn't it great when there is a Government surplus. All of the hugely expensive projects that can be undertaken. However, when times are tough and a Government is being asked to put out $1.6B for the most expensive road in Ontario...

The game is the same on the other side too:

• "34% Cut In Federal Highway & Bridge Funding Coming To All 50 States Unless Congress Acts, New Ad Says
  
  Washington, D.C.—The Highway Trust Fund is facing a firstever deficit, falling $3.7 billion short of being able to meet SAFETEALU’s highway investment guarantees. Unless Congress acts, every state will suffer a 34 percent cut in its highway and bridge funding, beginning October 1, 2008."

THANK GOODNESS FOR A PRIVATE ENTERPRISE BRIDGE

Can you imagine, the City, the owner of the Tunnel, cannot pay for the Tunnel Improvement project costs. I guess they did not charge enough for tolls. I just wrote about the Peace Bridge needing $90 Million from the US Governments on top of what it received from Canada. Now this:

• "Bridge Plaza master plan ready to go; Now it needs money, Rowswell says and pitches for multi-modal
  
  A master plan for a new $40-million Canadian customs facility at the International Bridge in now in place.
  
  The next step is to get the Canadian government to foot the bill, a daunting task that Mayor John Rowswell says is necessary to the Northern Ontario economy's success.
  
  Critical infrastructure improvements are necessary in the North in order to develop its economy and to help out the province, Rowswell said.
  
  The Sault has continuously made its pitch to higher levels of government that its location is ideal to establish itself as a multi-modal hub.
  
  A new customs structure is necessary to replace the 45-year-old facility and to bring Canada Border Services Agency up to standards in order to inspect commercial traffic appropriately.
  
  The move to create a multimodal hub would also serve to increase manufacturing jobs in the area and divert traffic from more congested border crossings such as Port Huron and Windsor-Detroit.
  
  It would also serve to help international businesses that must ship out their goods.
  
  Earlier this month it was recently announced that Canadian and U.S. government officials are poised to approve a final plaza and bridge location between Windsor and Detroit.
  
  The project, which links the two communities over the Detroit River, is expected to cost about $5 billion. Construction on that facility is expected to begin in 2009 and be completed in 2013.
  
  Phil Becker, of the Joint International Bridge Authority, said the problem is that under Canadian law, it is the bridge owner's responsibility to pay for a new building.
  
  But the JIBA receives the majority of its money from tolls and doesn't have the money to fund the project."

I told you that the Windsor border is just the latest example.

Stories You May Have Missed

I happened to see some of these items while searching through media outlets and thought that you might be interested in seeing them. Lots of Tunnel shorties too in case you were wondering.

IS AMBASSADOR WILSON THE NEXT TO GO

It is almost a given that the NAFTA-gate scandal is not over. The Canadian politicians and bureaucrats in Ottawa have finally figured out that they have damaged significantly the relationship with United States. Damage control time and heads have to roll before the next US election. Already the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, Ian Brodie, has said he is leaving.

To show you how serious this issue has become, it was necessary for the Prime Minister to issue a statement. Here it is:

• "STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER
  
  May 23, 2008
  Ottawa, Ontario
  
  Today, the Prime Minister's Office issued the following statement:
  
  Upon receipt of the Report on the Investigation into Unauthorized Disclosure of Sensitive Diplomatic Information, the following conclusions are noted:
  
  Any comments Mr. Brodie may have made during the lock-up did not reveal any information tied to the diplomatic report, of which he was made aware only on February 28. There is no evidence that Mr. Brodie disclosed any classified information.
  
  Based on the findings of this investigation, there is no evidence that Ambassador Wilson revealed any information tied to the diplomatic report or to any U.S. presidential candidate's position with respect to NAFTA, though his comments likely helped lead the reporter to the Senator Obama campaign. There is no evidence that Ambassador Wilson disclosed any classified information.
  
  The original diplomatic report was incorrectly classified and had an inappropriately broad distribution list."

Do you think I am wrong about Ambassador being the next to leave, after the appropriate time of course? Note the diplomatic language used. It did not say that he did not reveal or disclose. It just said that "there is no evidence."

Do you remember the BLOG I wrote about the Ultra Secret Canadian Playbook about how to deal with the United States? The person who was the Chair of the Group that prepared the Playbook was Transport Canada Deputy Minister Louis Ranger and a member of his Group was Windsor's own Herb Gray.

What a remarkable coincidence that both of them have had a history with the Windsor border crossing. And wouldn't it be a shame if our relationship with the United States, especially over NAFTA, is hurt as well because of the Ambassador Bridge issue.

You might find this part of the Report interesting about how Canada acts in the United States. Imagine if it was the other way around and the Americans interfered with our election process:

• "Ambassador Wilson returns the Washington Bureau reporter's call from Ottawa, where the Ambassador is attending a meeting.
  
  The Ambassador recalls the reporter saying:, “I am advised by a senior member of the government that you had a call from Clinton’s staff advising you that there would be conversations on that. The topic of NAFTA was going to become a more heated issue in the campaign, and that you should take this within the context of the heat of the campaign, the intensity of the campaign at that time leading up to the March 4th primaries.’’
  
  According to Ambassador Wilson, he explained, “[t]hat is a fabrication,. I have not received a call.” He recalls the reporter responding, “[o]h, that makes it difficult for me because this did come from someone quite senior in the government. Well, let me be quite clear with you. We’ve heard this from the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.”
  
  Ambassador Wilson explained to investigators that “[t]his was a story he wanted to go with and I thought the way he put it, if that goes out in that way, that’s going to cause us real awkwardness. So I tried to address the issues that were wrong in that conversation that we had up to that time; and I said, ‘Our job at this Embassy is to reach out, have contacts with a variety of people in the United States. We talk to the campaigns. This is done on a pro-active basis on our part. Campaigns don’t talk to us; they don’t reach out to us; they are too busy for that, so we reach out to them.’’’
  
  Believing he is speaking off the record, he explains that “[i]t was part of a broad conversation that we had these, with other campaigns, the three campaigns at that point, and that we had a contactwith the Obama campaign within a recent period of time,”, but that he could not be more precise on timelines because he was not part of that conversation.

Do you think the Americans are going to be happy with this explanation? Especially the Obama Democrats. I don't!

TUNNEL MATH

According to what I understand the transaction is to be with respect to the borrowing of $75 million,

• "The Windsor tunnel corporation is responsible for paying back the loan. It would be done with toll revenues from the Canadian side and roughly $600,000 in annual rent being paid by Alinda, which has a lease to operate the Detroit side until 2020."

The maximum term for a loan from the Ontario Government is 40 years according to the Infrastructure Ontario website. The interest rate chargeable to a Municipal Corp. these days ranges from 5.52-5.62% (the loan would be cheaper if the borrowing was done by the City itself by about one half a percent but what is a few dollars of interest between friends).

Using some amortization tables, at a rate of 5.52% over a 40 year period for payback, the yearly amount payable is about $4.7M.

Doing some simple math, it means that the Canadian side of the Tunnel has to find something like $4.1 million per year to pay off the loan. Considering that it pays to the City nothing as a dividend after paying over $6 million a year at one time, where is this money going to come from?

The money to be paid back could come from maintenance funds but that wouldn't be smart with such an old Tunnel. It could come from deferring improvements but all that happens is that when the improvements are done the costs are higher. Look at how much it cost to fix up the Ventilation Building.

The obvious answer is to get the money from toll revenues. Based on the volume of vehicles that go through the Tunnel, it means adding about a dollar per automobile to pay down the cost of borrowing. Already, the Tunnel is $.75 higher than the Bridge for a round-trip crossing at $8.75. Adding in another two dollars, would just drive traffic to the Ambassador Bridge and make it even more difficult for the loan to be paid off with the reduced traffic volumes.

Can you spell D-E-F-A-U-L-T?

TUNNEL VOLUMES

It's going to be a vicious circle... increase tolls to pay back the loan thereby reducing volume which means tolls have to be increased again which means reduced volume etc. etc. etc.

As I told you, one must read to the end of the Windsor Star stories to get important information. In the Star story on Saturday "Detroit mayor's office predicts tunnel deal," it was written right at the end that

• "The tunnel talks continue amid background information released this week from the tunnel commission which showed tunnel traffic numbers have dropped three per cent from the same time frame last year."

This drop is lower than that which the Tunnel has experienced in the past, probably because of the work being undertaken at the Ambassador Gateway project. Nevertheless, the volumes are still down meaning that the Tunnel has not been able to capitalize on all their advertising in getting significant new traffic from the Bridge. In fact, as I wrote before, the region is losing tourist traffic in huge numbers. We are down hundreds of thousands in passenger cars and thousands in buses. The numbers that the Bridge is losing are not being captured by the Tunnel.

Please explain to me how is it that the Tunnel will be able to pay off its loan as volumes shrink. Once the Ambassador Gateway project is finished, expect traffic to go to that crossing because it will be easier for vehicles to crossover. And if the new DRIC bridge is built that claims that it will take away a quarter of the Tunnel's in business, then how will the loan ever be paid back?

I do not understand how Eddie will be protecting commuters and Michigan tourists when the toll rate has to rise so high to cover the cost of loan?

Another little competition factor is that the Tunnel Plaza will not be improved for years to come since the City does not have the money to make the improvements even though the Senior Levels have agreed to put in two thirds of the $30 million originally budgetted. Note that amount has increased dramatically although the City has not shared with us the increased amount nor the reason why.

Again, why would one choose the Tunnel with its cramped conditions compared with the new Ambassador Gateway?

TUNNEL TIMETABLE

I'm not sure if I understand correctly the timing on this transaction.

The Detroit Mayor would like this completed by June 30. That is the budget deadline date.

However, this loan transaction has to be worked on by Infrastructure Ontario. Their spokesperson said that the transaction cannot be completed for another five to seven weeks. That could put it past the deadline before anyone knows what the decision is.

Then there is the approval of the must be given under the International Bridges and Tunnels Act for the transfer of the Canadian side from the City to the new Tunnel Corporation. Since the Regulations have not yet been published under that Act, I do not see how this transaction can be completed by June 30.

It could take months and months before anything could be done, especially since the issue of ownership is a hotly contested one with the Ambassador Bridge. Do you really believe that the Fed are going to do anything to jeopardize their legal position vis-à-vis the Bridge Company to help out our Mayor on an unimportant transaction like the Tunnel.

WHY ARE THE STAR AND HENDERSON SO AFRAID

No recent Editorial or Column on the Tunnel deal with Detroit. I wonder why not. Are they afraid to say it makes no sense for the City of Windsor for fear that the Mayor may be criticized for foolishly risking the money of taxpayers?

VEHEMENT OBJECTIONS

An interesting description of the in-camera meeting where staff received increases of up to 15% in the column of Gord Henderson:

• "I was out of town when the news broke that council, over vehement in-camera objections from councillors Dave Brister and Al Halberstadt, had agreed to provide close to 400 managers and non-union professionals with salary."

I'm not certain who told Gord what went on at that meeting since my information is that Councillor Brister did not say a word.

How then could it be said that he vehemently objected? Obviously, he has been taking hand raising lessons from the Mayor. You may recall that the Mayor has been trying to teach Councillors Halberstadt and Gignac how to hold their hands up at Council meetings.

Clearly the Mayor has told Council Brister that when he opposes something vehemently, when he puts his hand up he should put up his hand in a fist.

Let's see if he does that at Council now, If he does, then you will know the reason.

WHAT IS THE TUNNEL DEAL

Give your Councillor a call and ask him/her what the Tunnel deal is all about. You will not receive an answer because I'm told that none of them know since none of them have been told. Oh there might be one or two of them who have been let in on the secret but the vast majority haven't got a clue.

That is why I found these lines in the Star story on Saturday so funny. I'm going to reverse the order of how it was put in the newspaper and you can see what I mean:

• "We are aggressively pursuing everything to put this in an acceptable form to bring forward to (Windsor's) council for a decision."
  
  
• "But it's the kind of transaction where you can't jam a loan application down people's throat and expect them to pony up $75 million because you need it in a hurry."

So please explain to me how Councillors will exercise due diligence in the transaction that has to be completed so soon when they have not got the faintest idea what it is all about. It sounds very much like the Arena deal where they will get an Administrative report and then be told to vote yes or no.

Nope, no jamming here to meet a June 30 deadline.

UTTER CONTEMPT FOR WINDSORITES

Councillors have been neutered on the border issue since only Eddie is the spokesperson. That had been decided previously and in a public Council meeting. However, it was necessary to confirm it recently again, as disclosed on Face-to-Face, since a number of Councillors had the nerve to discuss the border in public.

If there is anything to be discussed in detail, it appears that the Councillors cannot say anything but must refer the discussion to the Mayor for handling. That is if they are to be true to their Resolution according to the Mayor.

That Councillors should agree to this in light of their legal obligations is mind-boggling to me.

We may as well save money and petition the Province to do away with Councillors in Windsor. In fact, let's do away with Council meetings entirely. Heck, most key decisions seem to be made in camera anyway.

Administration is doing a good job to ensure that Windsorites have no idea what is going to be held at Council. Here is the City's Council Agenda website on Friday, May 23 at 2:20 PM, after the noon time-period by which delegations have to register if they are to speak, as well as the Communications website.

Note that it was the websites for the previous meeting that was still being shown as late as Friday afternoon!

The excuse given for the failure:

• "We have been experiencing some technical difficulties, according to our I.T. Department."

Interstingly, that was the same excuse given before when I tried to download the WFCU Agreement when the website failed:

• "I am advised by our IT department that there were issues with the website this afternoon that have now been corrected."

Sure problems can develop with the Internet. No one is perfect. However, for no one in Administration to know that there was a problem with the website for an entire week is an absolute disgrace.

Doesn't anyone in Administration ever check the website? Is IT asleep? Does the Clerk's Office care?


I assume that they only discovered the problem when I sent an email complaining.

Blameless In Windsor

Can the border file become even more of a mess than it is now. One day someone will sit down and write the history of the last five or six years in Windsor but the problem is no one will ever believe what is being said. Mind you, no one could ever make this stuff up since it has become so bizarre.

By the way, why is it whenever there is a screwup on this file, when the answer seems to be spend more of taxpayer money, it is always "in our interest" to do so ie in the taxpayer interest to pay out more and more and more? I wish for once the responsible party would take on the responsibility to solve the problem at their cost, not ours.

The latest:

• "a small road section in front of the [Detroit/Windsor Ferry's] only access point is privately owned.
  
  Ferry operator Gregg Ward is concerned what the sudden revelation -- after 18 years of being in business -- will mean for the project and the ferry's future."

But you see is not Mr. Ward's fault that for 18 years he did not know that the trucks that were accessing his site were trespassing over the property of someone else. For 18 years! It seems that it is not his job to solve the problem either:

• "Ward has asked Windsor city council to help expedite necessary approvals and paperwork that would allow Ontario's transportation ministry to buy a 30-metre stretch of Maplewood Drive."

Nope, it is up to taxpayers to solve this problem so that he can stay in business and to pay for the costs too. I didn't see anything in the story that said that he would be willing to make a financial contribution. Never mind that it allows him to continue to make money, it has to be resolved since

• "It's for the betterment of the city."

And then we have the Mayor and the City's retained lawyer Mr. Sutts. It looks like the Tunnel deal is dead at a cost of well over $1 million for legal and other fees with no payback to the City. It may be that the transaction can still be salvaged but right now it does not appear to be a go. Check the Detroit papers' websites if you want the latest news.

Of course, the finger of blame has to be pointed at someone for all that wasted time, money and effort. After all, this project has been going on for years with a team of lawyers working so hard in our interest. Whose fault is the failure?

I am sure that you have figured out who it is after reading so many Star stories saying the same thing over the last several days. They have to protect Eddie from another one of his failures. Why it is none other than the owner of the Bridge Company. Blame him. He is the City's so-called "enemy" isn't he. He is an easy target for the Star to cast as the villain. I can hardly wait to see Gord's column too:

• "Cliff Sutts, who has been leading the tunnel negotiations for the city, strongly believes both Moroun and Alinda are still lurking and poised to make a deal with Detroit, should talks with Windsor fall apart."

It is not Eddie's fault that:

• the Tunnel is a unique security risk and nothing has been done to solve the problem



• the City cannot afford the Tunnel Plaza Improvements even though the Senior Levels agreed to pay two thirds of the $30 million costs



• the costs of the Project have risen dramatically in amounts that we have not been told and for reasons that we have not been told



• he waited so long that the value of the Canadian side of the Tunnel dropped from around $2-$300M to what it is now...just over $100M as disclosed in the roll-over transaction



• the Tunnel volumes have been dropping like a stone and the dividends were reduced to zero dollars while he was Chair of the Tunnel Commission



• he could not find financing for this project for over a year now



• the deal with Detroit has been changed so many times that one really doesn't know whether this is a loan, a lease, a sale or some combination thereof



• Windsor Councillors may not approve the transaction in the last minute even if it was to go forward since they have never been provided with sufficient information by him to know what this deal is all about and whether a proper business case can be made for it



• Windsor citizens, at least as reflected in the Windsor Star Forums on the subject, are almost unanimously against the transaction.

It is because of all of these private operators... the Bridge Company, Alinda, Macquarie Bank... who want to raise tolls skyhigh that Eddie was forced to act even if it made no business sense to do so. He is the commuters' friend and the Michigan tourists salvation. It is his role to spend our taxpayer money to induce Detroit to keep the Tunnel public. Never mind that he uses a private operator to run the Tunnel and has for years.

Of course, if you wrap the deal in the flag of public interest and not Eddie's agenda, then you can drag the Senior Levels into this mess too:

• "I don't believe there is any question an important facility such as this located in the largest traffic (border crossing) point in all of North America should be in public ownership," Sutts said.
  
  SUTTS DISAPPOINTED
  
  He is disappointed the federal and provincial governments haven't done more to stop the private sector from gaining greater control of the tunnel.
  
  He believes private-sector control would lead to a focus on short-term profits at the expense of long-term sustainability.
  
  "The City of Windsor has been saddled with the responsibility of attempting to ensure (it remains public)," Sutts said.
  
  "The assistance of federal or provincial governments should be freely offered to get that completed because it's in the best interest of all Canadians."

Again, we should be so grateful to Mr. Sutts for not charging us legal fees that he would charge to one of his private enterprise clients. As I wrote before:

• "The other point that I thought was interesting is that I assume that Mr. Sutts is charging a fee to the City for his services that is bordering on pro bono! After all he was the one who talked about private enterprise jamming up their charges as high as possible. Clearly, he only wants to charge "reasonable" fees.

Finally and on a different subject, I thought that Dan Stamper of the Bridge Company has a really good sense of humour. He can afford to have one since he, personally, lives in the US and is not a taxpayer in Windsor. It won't come off his property taxes to pay for a $75 million Tunnel deal after all, especially if there is a default by the Detroit side.

I thought that it was very generous of his Company not to try to outbid Windsor's offer. After all, why would they want to pay about three times more than they originally did for an asset that is aging, declining in value, is losing market share especially if the new DRIC Bridge takes away 25% of their traffic and may require during the term of the deal major capital investment. It is no wonder that he can state:

• "It doesn't bother me if it goes forward."

He can do the math as well as we can, dear reader, and knows that to pay back the interest and principal of a $75 million loan means that the tolls at the Tunnel have to be increased dramatically so that users of the Tunnel may think twice about crossing over using the Tunnel and use his Bridge instead! And once the Ambassador Gateway project is finished with its new highway connections, imagine how hard it will be for the Tunnel to compete.

I wonder if the "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" considered that in his Business Plan. Ooops I forgot, there is no need for a business case for this from Eddie. It is in our interest to keep the Tunnel public.

I can hardly wait for the next chapter in this border story. What startling event will take place that no one would ever have expected and how much more will it cost us because it is "in our interest!"

Even More News

Here are some scintillating news stories that may not have caught your attention.

BREAKING NEWS: IS THE TUNNEL DEAL DEAD

It seems to be. Check out the Detroit News and Free Press websites ASAP for full details.

A TUNNEL BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW WORLDS

I had to report this before Gord Henderson found this out and wrote about another tunnel project around the world that he could compare with Greenlink.

This is a photo of the giant drill as it came through the ground in London, England recently near the Tower Bridge to complete the link that is to be found in Brooklyn, New York.

While it is being denied, expect that there will be a strong movement to make this tunnel a passenger one, probably for high speed trains. Expect tremendous airline opposition as well since New York-London is a prime moneymaking route for them. Go to this website to read about the new tunnel between London, England and the New York City area.

Coincidentally, it is the125th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge. Bridges and tunnels again.

I know you will not believe it but then again no one expected that Greenlink would be so popular, with City Hall officials anyway.

http://www.tiscali.co.uk/telectroscope/home.php

CANADIAN GOVERNMENT MOVES ON NAFTA FILE

People sometimes ask whether or not BLOGGERs have any real power. Clearly now the answer is absolutely yes.

As you know I have been writing some scathing BLOGs about the stupidity of the Harper Government in its relations with the United States over the free trade agreement. I have suggested strongly that some politicians and bureaucrats in Ottawa are prepared to risk the Agreement over the issue of the Ambassador Bridge.

It appears that finally Stephen Harper has taken charge of this file. Note what CTV news is claiming:

• "Harper's chief of staff to resign within weeks
  
  Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff is expected to step down from his post within weeks, CTV News has learned.
  
  Sources told CTV News Wednesday night that Ian Brodie is set to leave his position -- most likely in July.
  
  Earlier this year, the Tories were hounded by the opposition over reports of Brodie's alleged involvement in the so-called NAFTA-gate affair.
  
  The affair dates back to the March leak of a Canadian consular document involving U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
  
  The memo claimed that a senior adviser to Obama told Canadian diplomats that the presidential candidate isn't serious about renegotiating the NAFTA trade deal -- and suggested comments Obama would make on NAFTA are more about political posturing than a real policy plan."

There is no doubt, in my mind at least, that there is a direct connection between my criticism and Brodie leaving. The next question will be when is Ambassador to the United States, Michael Wilson, being told to resign. When that happens, then you will know that there will be an agreement between Canada and the Ambassador Bridge Company immediately thereafter to try and calm down the US Government before our trade with the US collapses completely!

IS THERE AN INFRASTRUCTURE BUBBLE TOO

And, if so, is it about to burst? I asked this question because of a story that I saw on the Sympatico/MSN website:

• "Is your pension plan in trouble?
  
  The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, one of the largest defined benefit pension plans in the country, may have to choose between a sharp cut in benefits or an increase in pension contributions as the fund continues to struggle with a $12.7-billion shortfall...
  
  Next year, teachers will contribute about 12 % of their gross pay into the plan, compared with 8% in 2006. The government matches that contribution rate. But, that last contribution boost looks like it's not going to be enough.
  
  Why should you care? Well, even if you're not a teacher, this is a blueprint for what's likely to happen to your own pension plan - if you're lucky to have one to begin with."

The question to ask will be whether pension plans will continue to make huge investments in infrastructure hopefully so that they can get returns that will keep contribution amounts down and keep the benefits up or will they realize that the cost of infrastructure investing may be so high with so many dollars chasing a few good deals that other types of investment will need to be discovered.

Could this mean that a P3 investor for the new DRIC bridge which is extremely speculative in the first place will be much harder to find?

WE NEED A DRIC BRIDGE FOR THE TOURIST INFLUX

That is another myth that is now dead and should not be used as an excuse why we need to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a new DRIC bridge.

I have already explained in a previous BLOG that the Tunnel has not been able to capitalize on the work being done at the Ambassador Gateway project to increase their volume significantly. It just appears that people are not coming to Windsor anymore for a number of reasons I am certain. This phenomenon is not just limited to Windsor as this CTV story points out:

• "Travel to Canada hit all-time low in March
  May. 20 2008, CTV.ca News Staff
  
  American and overseas travel to Canada hit a record low in March, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
  
  In total, only 2.3 million foreign visitors, including those from the U.S., came to Canada in March -- a 12.4 per cent drop in travel compared to March 2007.
  
  March had the fewest number of tourists since record-keeping began in 1972. It also marks a fifth consecutive month of all-time lows for the Canadian tourism industry.
  
  U.S. residents made only 730,000 trips in March, down 2.5 per cent from the previous month...
  
  Randy Williams, president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada says the StatsCan report is not surprising. His organization has been noticing the significant declines in American tourism to Canada for over five years.
  
  "Every year we think we hit rock-bottom, and we should start to see a turnaround and it's worse than the year before. We don't know where the bottom of this well is," Williams told CTV.ca.
  
  Williams believes the American market will continue to slip as long as gas prices are high, the U.S. economy is slowing, and lineups at the border are long because of increased documentation requirements."

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

There are some interesting stories that the Detroit Free Press published recently about

• "Kilpatrick stocks payroll with friends, kin.
  
  A Free Press examination of city records shows that at least 29 people with close connections to the mayor have been appointed by Kilpatrick to city jobs since he took office in 2002. That's a significant departure from Detroit's last three mayors, who appeared to have hired far fewer family members or friends."

I wonder what the situation is in Windsor. Is it all based on merit when a person receives a job or does it depend on whom you know? I certainly do not know the answer to the question. Being a relative newcomer to the City, I don't know relationships as well as some others in town might who have lived here for so long or perhaps went to school or were in a social club with the Bigwigs.

Perhaps if anyone is interested you might want to send me connections that you think are valid among the Mayor, Councillors and senior members of the Administration and their friends and families. Might make for an interesting BLOG.

Win a Bluesfest Pass and Help Fight MS

"The weather is getting warmer and the days are getting longer and it’s time once again to prepare to ride from Grand Bend to London and back to raise funds to help in the fight against multiple sclerosis. My son, Brett, and my spouse, Nancy, will also be joining me.

Through the generousity last year of a great many persons more than $700,000 was raised on the Grand Bend ride alone. Nancy, Brett and I were able to raise over $10,000.00 last year through the generous contributions of persons such as yourself. This put us in the TOP 50 fundraisers in all of Canada. I hope I can count on you to help surpass last year’s total.

As an added incentive if you contribute on-line I am pleased to announce that not only will you receive a tax receipt but your name will also be entered in a draw for two tickets to the Windsor Symphony Side by Side performance May 9, 2009. If you contribute before May 31 there will be a special early bird draw for a weekend pass to the Windsor International Bluesfest July 10 – 13 so you’ll have two chances to win.

People living with MS are counting on us. Please click on or copy the following link into your browser address box to make your pledge on-line today.

https://msors.mssociety.ca/Bike2008/Sponsor.aspx?&PID=982585&L=2

Or if you prefer you may also send a cheque payable to “MS Bike Tours” to 1195 Argyle Road, Windsor, ON, N8Y 3K2.

I sincerely thank you for your support.

Many thanks

Wayne Lessard

Is Francis Suckering Detroit

All of you in Windsorites who want to take a job out West but are afraid to do so because you believe that the airfare costs will eat into your income do not have to despair anymore.

WINDSOR TAXPAYERS WILL SUBSIDIZE YOU!

Yes you heard this properly. My inside moles have told me that the hundred million dollar fund that the Mayor wants to set up is really to subsidize your airfares so that the cost will be virtually nothing for you. You can now go out West to earn a big income and return home every week-end with all that money in your pocket. You do not have to sell your Windsor home and your family does not have to move out West to join you. More importantly, the City property taxes will not decline.

Oh, you think that I'm just fooling. You should know by now that everything I tell you is the absolute truth. How can I prove it to you? Why just take a look at the Star story on the Tunnel deal. How many of you believed that the purpose of the deal was:

• "ownership of the Detroit side of the tunnel, which was the original intent when negotiations began two years ago."

How wrong you were. Nope, Eddie is prepared to spend $75 million

• "Instead, the deal would entice Detroit into entering into an agreement to run the tunnel with these arms-length companies, preventing the Detroit side from being sold to a private company."

And why does Eddie want to do that:

• "because Windsor relies on the tunnel to get Windsor commuters to their jobs in Detroit."

Those big bad private investors would use the Tunnel as a profit centre and increase tolls so high that it would become unusable. That is how Eddie is saving our local commuters' income by subsidizing their toll revenues in effect.

So if it is fair for taxpayers to spend $75 million to help out Canadian nurses working in Detroit and Auburn Hills Chrysler workers from Canada, then it is only fair to spend $100 million to help out people who commute out West. Fare is fair!

What a crock this Tunnel story is becoming.

Does anyone think that taxpayers are truly this stupid. I cannot believe that Eddie would dredge up the stuff about the Bridge Company Owner again as justification for what he wants to do:

• "Negotiations began on the deal about two years ago with the intent Windsor would buy ownership of the Detroit side -- currently being leased to private company Alinda until 2020. Both Windsor and the Canadian federal government at that time feared a bid by Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun to buy the tunnel's U.S. side.
  
  "Initially there were legitimate concerns that the American half would fall into private hands with a connecting road to the Ambassador Bridge which would effectively kill or eliminate the entire downtown-to-downtown connection," Francis said."
  


• "Mayor Eddie Francis and Windsor council want to prevent investors such Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun or infrastructure firms such as Macquarie Bank and current tunnel lease holder Alinda from using the asset of the Detroit side solely as a profit venture."

The Bridge Company will not need to spend very much money on legal fees when Eddie keeps acting this way and making it so easy for them. Using City money to compete against him with respect to border traffic and then putting impediments in front of him at the Bridge.

You don't really believe that the exemptions from the bylaws with respect to demolition were being done to help out the developers or to improve the area do you? Come on now, you cannot be that naïve after all this time, dear reader! Especially after the US case on the Bridge Company being a federal instrumentality and given what Eddie and David Estrin said at the Senate, the City knows it has no legal position to prevent the Bridge Company from demolishing their homes.

The Planner at Council has already said that, even if the Bridge Company appeared in front of Council asking for demolition, he would not recommend that their homes be demolished until after the Community Improvement Plan is done months from now! Then the Bridge Company will be faced with Heritage designation for Sandwich to stop them.

In addition, unlike some of the developers who allegedly filled their site with dirt from other locations so that kids could peek into neighbouring houses as Councillor Jones talked about or who did not protect their site or had a work order issued so that an exemption made sense, the Bridge Company foolishly boarded-up the homes, made sure the grass was cut and put a chain link fence around their properties to keep out intruders. By acting responsibly, they made it easy for Council to reject their application!

If our Mayor is so public spirited, why is there a toll on the Canadian side at all? Even when the round-trip toll was lower at the Tunnel than at the Bridge, people still did not go there as the Tunnel lost market share to the Bridge over the years.

It really is a shame that the Star Reporter had to travel to Detroit to find out what this deal is all about. I'm surprised to be honest that there was not a lot more coverage about this specific matter in the Star story or perhaps in a Star Editorial. Imagine, not being able to get that information from our Mayor's office easily.

But then again even our Councillors have no idea what the real story is on the Tunnel. Seriously, can you believe it... a $75 million transaction and only the Mayor and his Lawyer know what is all about!

Let me see how this plays out... at the last possible minute, at an in camera meeting, there is an Administration Report setting out how wonderful the Tunnel deal is but of course not providing the agreements themselves for the Councillors to read. Councillors will be told that they must sign off immediately and approve the deal. Once that is done, the Administration Report will be required to be returned so that no member of the public can see it.

Since the Tunnel Company is private, for competitive reasons, the information cannot be made public so that taxpayers will know what the deal actually is.

Wait a minute... that was the arena deal. That cannot happen with respect to the Tunnel.

I will give Councillor Bill Marra credit at least to be fair for saying the following

• "If the transaction involves both governments, I think the same level of information has to exist on both sides," he said.
  
  "We are five and a half weeks from the deadline. The last thing any member of the (tunnel) commission or council wants is to make a decision on this in a short period of time. This is a decision that will have impact for many years and due diligence needs to be involved.
  
  "I won't participate in a last-minute decision."

I'm told by my inside moles that a considerable number of the Councillors feel this way as well and will not be pushed by the Mayor. Whether that is a majority or not, I am not certain at this time. When you get this type of comment from Councillor Postma, one should get very concerned:

• "I have faith in the team that's working for us, so at this point I await reports from them."

I am afraid Councillor that all taxpayers are not using drug paraphernalia -- such as bongs, glass pipes and hookahs so that their minds are jelly.

Or this one from Councillor Gignac (and by the way she still not responded to my e-mail to her):

• "With the information put in front of me, I'm comfortable with (the legal costs)," said Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac.

Perhaps we might get lucky and those who would not give the Mayor a blank cheque on the University Engineering Complex will feel the same way with respect to this transaction.

I guess the Powers-that-be on both sides of the river have forgotten that the transaction cannot go through until the Federal Government signs off on it because of the transfer of the assets of the Tunnel from the City to a new private Company. That is what the International Bridges and Tunnels Act is all about isn't it. I thought that ownership regulations would not come out for about a year after the passing of the Statute. If the Federal Government does something quickly to help out the City with respect to the Tunnel, then imagine what the Bridge Company will say in arguing that the Federal Government is discriminating against them. More problems I fear for this deal.

Let's come back to the Detroit side now. I must admit that I do not understand the deal whatsoever based on what the Star has written. It makes no sense to me at all. After all Eddie said:

• "Do you really think the city would borrow money, lend money and then be on the hook for the money?
  
  "Negotiations are ongoing and no one should jump to any conclusions. You can't comment until things are done. Things change."

So this means that there is more to the deal than even the Star knows or Detroit Council! That should make some people even more furious at Detroit City Hall.

It looks like the Windsor Tunnel Company will borrow the money from Ontario and send $75 million to the new Detroit Tunnel Company. Note as well that we don't know exactly how much money Eddie is actually borrowing. We are assuming that it is $75 million. Do not forget that there is a promissory note from the Windsor Company to the City for over $100 million as well. Wouldn't the City like to see that promissory note paid off at the same time? Is that what this deal is really all about? Is the Windsor Company actually borrowing $175 million or more? I am merely speculating. I do not know.

The Detroit Company presumably pays off the purchase price of the Tunnel by sending money to the City of Detroit. We are told that Detroit is not on the hook for the repayment, just the Detroit Tunnel Company. I assume that's how you get the Detroit Council on side since there is no liability and the City gets all this money for its Tunnel interest. Of course, someone makes a ton of money on fees on the Detroit side too.

Here's the interesting part though. The only money that the Tunnel Company gets is $600,000 a year from Alinda for the next 12 years until their contract expires. Windsor borrows at least $75 million, and even assuming a 5% interest rate, that is more than $600,000 is it not? How does the Detroit Company pay the outstanding interest?

Does it mean that the Detroit Company is in default within the first year of the transaction taking place? Alternatively, is a deal structured so that no interest is paid for a dozen years so that at some point in time the interest outstanding plus interest on top is added to the amount of $75 million and then repaid? I have no idea.

I ask this question because the Ontario loan is for a maximum of 40 years according to the government website and yet we are told that

• "a Goldman Sachs report prepared for Detroit that looks at projected toll revenues, repair costs and interest expenses, concludes it could take 45 to 50 years to repay the $75 million."

Of course, Windsor Taxpayers may be directly on the hook if we have to guarantee the loan to the Ontario Government or we could lose the asset entirely if the Windsor Tunnel Company defaults. Again I do not know the answer to this.

That overly complicates the transaction so let me try and simplify it. Let's assume it's like a mortgage on your house. You borrow money from the bank and agree to pay them back, principal and interest. If you default, the bank forecloses.

Is that what the real deal is with the Detroit Company? Within the first year since the Detroit Company cannot pay interest on the amount borrowed since they only received $600,000 a year from Alinda, the Windsor Tunnel Company forecloses on the Detroit side and now is the owner of the whole Tunnel.

It is not set up as a sale transaction because Detroit Council would go nuts if that was ever attempted by the Detroit Mayor but it is structured as a loan with the same result. Would this also get around any applicable US laws that might be involved or US Homeland Security concerns if Windsor took over the Tunnel on a sale since the Tunnel is a unique security risk?

It is a conclusion that a reasonable person could arrive at because frankly the amount of $75 million for the Detroit side seems unrealistic given that the Bridge Company offered substantially less and the Canadian Federal Government walked away from the transaction. Remarkably, the amount being offered would pay off the Detroit budget hole.

Can one conclude that someone started working backwards instead saying here's how much money is the minimum we need to pay to get Detroit onside and then figure out a way to do it with the Tunnel? Again, I have no idea.

Let's assume that Eddie Francis is correct in saying that the value of the Canadian side alone is worth $2-$300M as he said a number of years ago. What does that make the entire Tunnel worth? Much more than $75 million to Detroit plus the hundred million dollar promissory note from the Windsor Tunnel Company to the City.

Is this our Mayor taking advantage of the financial position of the City of Detroit? Is he negotiating a very low price so that he can make a huge capital gain down the road by flipping it to a private investor or to the Feds? I wish I knew.

There is something going on given all the secrecy. I find it remarkable that the Gord Henderson column today is concerned more about the Toronto Star articles about windsor than about the Tunnel deal. I find it strange as well that the Star has not written one single significant Editorial about this given all of the attention on the US side.

At the least, I would have expected a thundering Editorial about all of secrecy involved including the fact that our Councillors seem to know nothing. I would have expected the Star to be furious that its reporter had to go to Detroit to find out information about this deal. They could have had fun with our lawyer's use of the word "confidentiality" again after the Privacy Commissioner ruling on the Spitfires' lease:

• "Sutts pointed to a confidentiality agreement surrounding the negotiations which restricts his comments on the $75-million figure."

No, there is an agenda at play. I just don't get it. The City of Windsor cannot afford to spend money for years for the Tunnel Improvement Project in which the Senior Levels are paying two thirds of the costs (and we know that the costs have risen far above the $30 million originally budgetted but we do not know the exact amount yet) but we can borrow $75 million to cure Detroit's budgetary issues.

Without full and complete disclosure now, this is insanity at taxpayer expense.

This is our Mayor playing entrepreneur again with taxpayer dollars to achieve some result that we know nothing about. The Star article today is nothing more than building in a defence so that if this deal disintegrates and falls apart with taxpayers having to pick up the dollars, the Mayor can say it was not structured as a business transaction. Rather it was designed to stop Matty Moroun in the public interest!

What a crock of....oooops I had better watch my language or I might start sounding like local Councillors talking to their colleagues.

Thickening In The Head

Wow. Someone should get the franchise over using the newest buzzword "thick" when describing impediments to quick crossing at the border. If I owned it and received a nickel for every time it has been used recently, I would be rich today!

I did not spend a lot of time looking for the date when the word was first used in relation to the border but it has been around for at least 5 years. It just seems that it has been in vogue relatively recently. Everyone seems to be using it from politicians to reporters to members of different associations.

Here are just a few references I have seen over the past few weeks

• "One of the goals that Canadians and Americans have is to thin the border," Ganong said Wednesday.
  
  "After 9/11, the border, if you will, got thicker."

Can't you just see it, Richard Simmons doing his "Sweatin' to the Oldies" exercises at the next SPP meeting trying to thin the thick border. I wonder what kind of gym clothes Harper's stylist would pick out! Here are some more examples:

• Traffic at border crossings can also thicken during long weekends. Therefore, it’s a good idea to check in advance to see if there are delays
  


• Yet delays triggered by the unexpected have risen every year since the 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
  
  "It's not in anybody's best interest - it's not in the United States' best interest and it's not in Canada's best interest to have a border that simply acts as an impediment to trade so that economic activity is halted," Mr. Kee said.
  
  Experts have dubbed this phenomenon a "thickening" of the border.



• Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Industry Minister Jim Prentice have also recently warned that "thickening of the border" is costing business heavily on both sides.
  
  Beatty reiterated those concerns Thursday to The Journal's editorial board. He said Canada-U.S. trade differs from that between other countries.
  
  "We don't just ship them wheat and buy car parts. We make stuff together. We're highly integrated ... so smooth functioning of the border is more important..."
  
  Potential investors are likely to set up shop in the U.S. to avoid the border hassles, he said.



• Faced with the thickening of the U.S-Canadian border and the downturn in the American economy, Canada is setting the stage for free-trade talks with the European Union. Preliminary studies have been ordered and in October, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will decide whether to give the green light to begin formal negotiations towards a new, trans-Atlantic free trade deal.



• PBOA President Stan Korosec, who is also Vice President of Operations for Blue Water Bridge Canada, agrees with Bradley. "Our members are also concerned about the thickening of the border," says Korosec. "We have been meeting with representatives of the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection since the summer long delays experienced in 2007 and are pleased with their efforts to date to facilitate legitimate trade and tourism without affecting security. We hope that the Canadian Government allocates the proper staffing and resources to the Canada Border Services Agency (so that similar delays are not experienced coming into Canada this summer)".


• The warning echoes criticisms about a "thickening" border imperiling trade and productivity made recently by the North American Chambers of Commerce and the North American Competitiveness Council.



• Prentice sounds alarm over ‘thickening’ U.S. border



• Prentice's warnings about the "thickening of the border" were much more pointed than those Prime Minister Stephen Harper raised last month at a summit with U.S. President George W. Bush in New Orleans.


• Interminable lineups, frustrating delays – time is money, and these days, both are a-wasting at the 49th parallel...At a time when globalization is supposed to be bringing countries closer together, business leaders are bemoaning what they describe as a thickening of the 49th parallel.


• Canadians have reason to worry that American fears of 9/11 terror, coupled with raw presidential politics, put trade at risk. Washington is intent on “thickening” its borders with Canada and Mexico in ways that hurt our common $1 trillion trade, even though recession threatens all three countries.


• about thickening the border, a phrase I'm well aware of, we have consistently -- and I'd say, more appropriately, the Department of Homeland Security has consistently tried to work with the Canadians, to be as transparent as possible with them, explain to them kind of the process, what we're doing, how we're going about it, trying to make sure that we meet all of our legal requirements, but we also facilitate trade and travel.

Bureaucrats who really run things, especially American ones, should be very familiar with the term "thickening" since it has been used to describe them and how they act! The Brookings Institute wrote:

• "The past half century has witnessed a slow, but steady thickening of the federal bureaucracy as Congress and presidents have added layer upon layer of political and career management to the hierarchy. The past six years have been no different. Despite the president's promise to bring business-like thinking to the federal government, the Bush administration has overseen, or at the very least permitted, a significant expansion in both the height and width of the federal hierarchy. There have never been more layers at the top of government, nor more occupants at each layer.
  
  The impact of the thickening is in the headlines regularly. Information must pass through layer upon layer before it reaches the top of the hierarchy, if it reaches the top at all, while guidance and oversight must pass through layer upon layer on the way to the frontlines, if it ever reaches the frontlines at all. It is little wonder that no one can be held accountable for what goes wrong or right in government, especially in a hierarchy where presidential appointees serve for 18-24 months on average, and information is often delivered by word of mouth through a process that has come to resemble the childhood game of telephone. "

Read part of a press release from the C.D. Howe Institute back in 2003. This probably helps explain why border impediments or Senator Kenny's "Dirty Little Secret" really exist:

• "In a Commentary entitled “Risky Business: U.S. Border Security and the Threat to Canadian Exports,” Danielle Goldfarb, policy analyst with the Institute, and William B.P. Robson, senior vice president and director of research, say there is a compelling need for a broad new agreement on North American economic and security integration to lessen the vulnerability of cross-border trade. Recent border tightening by the U.S. in advance of a planned invasion of Iraq provides clear evidence of the need.
  
  “In the event of another attack, Canada will again be a target of U.S. complaints, partly because of legitimate concerns about inadequate security [in Canada] and partly because many Americans will be reluctant to accept blame for failings on their own side,” Goldfarb and Robson say in the Commentary, part of the Institute’s Border Papers series. “One small security flare-up linked to Canada could have major economic consequences.”
  
  The authors estimate that in the event of future actual or feared attacks, border disruptions directly threaten key sectors of the Canadian economy that account directly for as much as 45 percent of Canadian exports, 400,000 jobs and $3.7 billion of investment, as well as another half of each of those amounts for sectors that are indirectly vulnerable. The study adds that Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and P.E.I. have the greatest proportions of highly vulnerable industries...
  
  The authors add: “Effective ‘thickening’ of the border by extra security measures threatens to deprive Canada of the advantages — in particular, investment by producers seeking to serve the entire North American market — that trade liberalization within this continent has conferred.”

Want more? Here is something for you to read. Check out the Globe and Mail story on their website published on May 17 :

• "DEAD END FOR FREE TRADE
  
  
  NAFTA was meant to deliver timely, unfettered access to Canada's biggest trading partner. Instead, delays are longer, costs are higher, and business models are breaking down"

Of course you need to round out your education by reading what both the Brookings Institute wrote ("The Vital Connection: Reclaiming Great Lakes Economic Leadership in the Bi-National
US-Canadian Region") :

• "The largest challenge to further economic integration is posed by homeland security concerns and measures that have slowed border and bi-national economic exchange since 2001."

and the latest Report by the NORTH AMERICAN COMPETITIVENESS COUNCIL:

• "The NACC continues to favor a more comprehensive approach to reducing border congestion that would entail shifting the customs clearance process, to the extent possible, away from ports of entry, and toward the inbound side of choke points such as border bridges and tunnels. In the longer term, as many inspection processes as possible should be moved away from the border."

Why am I telling you all of this? It's very simple. The problem of the border simply has little to do with a bridge or a tunnel no matter where located on the border between Canada and the United States. The bridges and tunnels in themselves are not responsible for delays.

Oh you will see the odd comment about Windsor/Detroit in passing (I mean really, the Governments will have spent on both sides of the river $50-$6M on the DRIC report by the time it is done so someone has to say something about it) but when you read all of these reports and read all the stories, the issues come down to Customs, Homeland Security and the US need for security.

That is why as I have said before I do not understand why the Canadian Government has decided to take on the United States over the Ambassador Bridge issue and is making such a big deal about it. It is such a small part of the whole free trade issue but it can become another softwood lumber issue easily if someone chooses to make it one.

NAFTA is at stake and a good part of our prosperity if we do the wrong thing. We cannot win if the Americans decide to look inward and become more protectionist. We can play elephantine but we are still the mouse in the end.

Accordingly, there is no point in the Prime Minister threatening the President of the United States with Canadian oil at the SPP meeting nor having an Industry Minister try to confront the President when they're both delivering speeches at the same conference nor leaking news stories to the CBC French language network stating things that the Americans are in no position to do at this time because of the law.

It makes no sense to embarrass a sitting Republican President nor to dismiss a possible Republican Presidential candidate as being unelectable by our Government's actions. Why hurt your friends?

It makes no sense to try and determine which Democratic candidate might be the choice in running for President, especially when one guesses incorrectly, and then compound that error by stating that you want to do a deal before that person becomes President. Why hurt your new friend?

Next time you see the word "thick" in relation to the border you probably will understand better what it means after you have read this BLOG.

Don't forget it also refers to the brains of certain bureaucrats and politicians who have not got a clue as to what they are doing other than destroying the relationship between Canada and the United States over one bridge in particular.

Is it really worth it?