Border Crossing Exclusive

Border Crossing Exclusive

Dear reader, I'm about to tell you what I believe is about to happen with the border crossing in Windsor/Detroit. I am probably one of the few people in both Canada and United States who is able now to figure it all out given what is going on now publicly.

Oh, don't think that someone from the inside has given me "secret" information so that I can give this to you exclusively. After all, since I have been so ill over a year and a half ago, I hardly talk to anyone about political matters because I just don't have the strength or interest in pursuing them.  That doesn't mean, however, that I have lost my desire to know what is going on because of everything that I have done for so many years previously. More importantly, I am so pleased that my brain is functioning so well now that I can write this article for you, dear reader, which I believe is pretty accurate.

Before I break my "news" to you about what I think is going to happen relatively soon, let me remind you a little bit of my history in the border file that is taking place between Windsor and Detroit for well over a decade.

Effectively, I made a decision early on about what was going to happen between the Governments of Canada and United States and the Ambassador Bridge Company. I joined the Board of "STOPDRTP" where I helped represent Windsor residents in the land area where DRTP was supposedly going to be built and became one of the executive members of the group set out to oppose that when I first got involved in the border file. At that time, obviously, I knew little about what was taking place and certainly about what was going to happen.

One of the first things I got involved in almost immediately when I joined up, along with the gentleman who was on their Executive, was a meeting with a senior person representing the Canadian operation of the Ambassador Bridge Company in Windsor, Canada. It was a very interesting session in which we learned about the history of the Bridge Company, what steps they had done in the past involving the border crossing and what they planned on doing at that time. To be direct, by the time I left the meeting, I was very certain that they would have what they wanted undertaken and that they would remain as the operator of the bridge crossing between Canada and United States. I did expect that there would be some difficulties hopefully designed to prevent them from being successful and then forcing them to sell out. However, I expected them to be the ultimate winner by the end of the matter.

I must admit that I did not believe that this file would take so long in concluding. In all the very many years since that first meeting, I was quite involved as a member of that citizens' organization. I also wrote border crossing opinions on my own website that I wrote on exclusively for many years. Finally I was very involved with the online newsletter that I helped start up and stayed with until just before my major illness around Christmas/New Year time, 2014 when I had already left for a few weeks previously.

In all of those many years of watching what was going on in the fights between the US and Canadian groups, there are so many factors that came into play. I am not going to bore you with them now but it was always my belief that ultimately the Ambassador Bridge Company would win.

But then, some interesting things might happen even if the Company was the victor.

My suspicion always was that the Governments expected that Matty Moroun would get out of the business once the Company had won and was building his new bridge and that his son would take over.  My belief was that they expected that his son would sell the border bridge because he really did not have a lot of interest in wanting to be involved in handling it. They probably thought that he would think that there were many other more important matters that would take up his time in all of the other affairs that his Organization was involved in. Moreover, the amount of money that they would have to pay to him was really not going to be all that much in the scheme of things although they believed that he would think that it was a considerable amount.

Naturally, the Government people messed up everything that completely ruined them and gave more reasons for the entire Moroun family to hang onto the Ambassador Bridge. One silly event as far as I am concerned in the entire border file was the one night that both Matty Moroun and Dan Stamper, his senior executive, spent in jail after being sent there by a US judge during a legal file. It was such a dumb move.

Let's be real about everything. Look at how many years the Ambassador Bridge has been privately owned. Nevermind how many crucial affairs there have been that could mean attacks on Ambassador Bridge including World War II and so many other battles and wars involving Canada and the US and their enemies, economic devastation in our countries, slowdowns and many other negative matters. Has anyone ever seen the Governments coming in before to buy the Ambassador Bridge to protect it? If they have not done so before because the feeling was that they had no such legal right to do so, then what gives them that power now? Which Court could now legitimately support the right of the Governments, for example, to expropriate the Morouns' interest in the Ambassador Bridge? Why haven't the Governments already done it? I find it strange that if the Government of Canada has that power, then they have done nothing so far.

Oh, there is a lot more for me to talk about that says that the Ambassador Bridge owners' interests cannot be taken over legally by the Governments. However, I will just leave you with that thought so that I don't have to write anymore about what I have said so far.

Given all of that, then why am I writing this article. The reason should be obvious. Here is my "Border Crossing Exclusive!"

I truly believe that there have been negotiations going on between the Ambassador Bridge Company and the Government of Canada. My belief is that these negotiations have been undertaken quite extensively once a new Prime Minister was elected in Canada. My belief also is that the Ambassador Bridge Company is feeling more positive about dealing with the Canadian Government not only because our new Government is treating them better but, more importantly, because our new Government seems to have a terrific relationship with the Government in the United States. I suspect that the Ambassador Bridge Company knows that they ultimately will have to sell out some interest in the Bridge to try to maintain a positive relationship with the Governments of Canada and United States but would like to do it as soon as possible and on terms that are acceptable to them. The last thing that they want to do is to keep on fighting this matter for who knows how many years. Who knows, some Courts at that time might be prepared to rule in favour of the Governments no matter what.

I'm just surprised that we have seen so many recent stories about "secret" negotiations going on with the Ambassador Bridge Company and a Government not only in some Canadian newspapers but in a big story in an American newspaper that I saw in one written recently by a writer who is hardly a friend of the Ambassador Bridge Company at all. It tells me that something different is going on now and something very important as well.

My own belief is that these writers may well aware of the ongoing negotiations and may well be expecting that there is to be a conclusion reached soon. They have to try and preserve their position and to try and give themselves a positive position even though they have failed completely in what they had hoped that they could achieve i.e. the kicking out of the Moroun Family who would have been forced to sell out to the Governments at a very low price.

My own "Border Crossing Exclusive" is that we will hear very soon that a deal in fact has been concluded between the Ambassador Bridge Company and the various relevant Governments. It will be presented as a huge victory for a US President who will be retiring soon and a newly elected Canadian Prime Minister! Of course, the Ambassador Bridge Company will not let everyone know that they are the real winners. It will all be done before the new US Government takes power at a time when the US President now has the power to promote the deal taking place.

The timing is actually perfect for something like this when one looks at what is going on in this matter. The Governments have never done anything in reality because my belief is that they know they would never win. The Ambassador Bridge Company is willing to make an interesting move now because the elder Moroun is so much older and they do not want pressure on his son as he takes over the business. All of the parties have finally realized that they need to settle it in a way that is advantageous for all of them. Of course, the Government of Canada still hopes that one day they will take over the entire bridge but they are not prepared to fight that battle now because they have done so badly over the last decade.

So there you have it, dear reader. That is why you see these strange news stories that are giving everyone interested in the border file some news that something is going to happen soon.  You have read in my opinion what is going to happen. I expect to be right!