Is There A Federal Government/Ambassador Bridge Company Settlement Now

 

Come on in and you will see what is happening with the border file. Do you think that there finally might be a resolution between the Federal Government and the Ambassador Bridge Company now? I wish I knew what the real answer was but a resolution is certainly a very strong possibility now. At least in my opinion! 

I just cannot believe what I read in the Star the other day.  Oh, in case you are wondering what I mean, it is the TORONTO Star that I'm talking about and not the WINDSOR Star. All that the latter Star did in its newspaper was a story reporting what the TORONTO Star had written earlier. Oh well, maybe the Windsor Star will smarten up now with its border coverage. I truly hope so for their newspaper coverage sake. 

I have to admit that I was stunned by what I read in the Toronto Star.  In case you want to read that story but have not done so yet, I would suggest that you go here first before you read the rest of my posting: "Olive branch could end Detroit-Windsor bridge wars"    http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/02/13/olive-branch-could-end-detroit-windsor-bridge-wars.html   It was their media scoop as far as I'm concerned. Here is what the Toronto Star told us: 

"Linda Diebel Sat Feb 13 2016  

WINDSOR—American billionaire Manuel (Matty) Moroun — owner of the Ambassador Bridge and foe of Canada’s plan for a competing bridge over the Detroit River — wants to talk. The message is the Harper government got its numbers wrong but he likes the new guy in Ottawa. 

“The Windsor-Detroit border can be a shining example of efficiency and co-operation,” said Moroun’s son, Matthew, in an email to the Star. 

“I’m inspired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desire to take a new look and a fresh approach to fix old problems. This situation is just such a problem. 

“I’m ready to do the same.” 

If that is not a proper invitation to get together and come up with a resolution ASAP then I don't know what is. Remember the costs as the basis for doing so, never mind anything else. For the Ambassador Bridge Company, their cost for a 2nd bridge was around a half billion dollars. For the Government of Canada, the number that is being thrown around now for a new bridge is about 10 times that amount for one a couple of miles away i.e. $5 billion plus! 

How can the Government in all fairness want to spend so much more money when right now the volume of border traffic is substantially less than what was being predicted before and can be handled on a much better and more efficient basis now. 

I am all in favour of a resolution now between the Ambassador Bridge Company and the Government of Canada. It is exactly what should have been hoped.  I'm not actually setting out what that resolutions should be. However, the structure of it should be in my opinion somewhat similar to something that I wrote about in my article here about a month ago: "I Have Had Enough With The Border File"  http://tecumsehcityblog.blogspot.ca/2016/01/i-have-had-enough-with-border-file.html  

 Perhaps the parties too are just as disgusted as I was with how long this border file has been underway and are hopeful for a quick resolution now that works well for both sides! 

Just so you understand, dear reader, a settlement could require no money from the Federal Government or could require an amount that will help pay for the cost of a new bridge. To be direct, I would expect that the final resolution will require a payment to the Bridge Company from the Government. After all, I would expect that this payment would also give the Government a share of the border traffic business to get that money back over time over the next number of years and would give the Government a bigger voice in the handling of border traffic.   

Yes, it does mean that the Ambassador Bridge Company's ownership of the new border file would not be 100% as it is now because they will have to give up some of the shareholding ownership. But hey, it will still be a pretty good deal for them considering who their new partner would be. 

The Reporter's comment was exactly correct in the Toronto Star story: 

"It’s a stunning statement after years of lobbying, litigation and threats to derail what is arguably Canada’s most important infrastructure project, seen as crucial to Canada’s trade and security." 

Effectively, the Ambassador Bridge Company would want to have a successful resolution with the Government of Canada now even if their border position would have ultimately won in a decade after huge amounts of litigation. That means giving up their claims but it also means saving millions of dollars to continue the fight in further legal disputes. For the Government, it means a much cheaper way to solve the border crossover traffic problems and something that can be done now that gives them a very significant victory other than what they might not otherwise get if I am correct that they really have no border position under the Bridge Company's legislation. 

I have to admit that the comments by Dwight Duncan really startled me. They were so positive I was thrilled by them, especially from him who was not the biggest fan of the Ambassador Bridge Company over the years: 

"Dwight Duncan, federally appointed interim chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, said he was “blown away” by the email. He was surprised at both its content and friendly tone. 

“It’s a significant development,” said the former Ontario finance minister, a Windsor native. “Clearly, it’s an issue for the political leadership of Prime Minister Trudeau and President (Barack) Obama.” 

In his note to the Federal Government, Moroun also made a very interesting comment: 

"Our company and the Harper government spent the last decade fighting unproductively,” he wrote. “Our position was that the Ambassador could be the only bridge. The former government’s position was that their ‘bridge-to-be’ would be able to pay back the taxpayers for the billions of dollars to construct it — even if Canada paid for the U.S. portion. 

“We were both wrong and unnecessarily strident.” 

I think that Moroun was being "generous" in saying that they were wrong in what they were thinking,  but I think that he is doing so to try to end the dispute between them.  It is an excuse for them to be "friends" again by him accepting some of the blame.   

I think that I have written a lot now about a resolution of the border file. I'm so happy about what Matthew Moroun wrote. I am so hopeful that the Government of Canada can see it as a practical way to solve the border dispute and to get a new bridge built as soon as possible. All that the parties have to do is end all of the litigation and agree on the future between themselves.   

I think it is a very practical resolution and can easily be done quickly. All that the Parties have to do is to act in a uniform way together and as soon as possible as well. That means that the border file is finally resolved. 

Just as important, for this region, is that we can move forward and get the people in here working again so we are not the Unemployment champions in Canada for another month! 

Let's start demanding a final solution between the parties as soon as possible. That should not be all that difficult to do!