Cannon Shot Sinks Province

Whenever you have different levels of Government involved, especially on both sides of the river, there is going to be tension. There are politicians involved and everyone wants the best publicity for themselves and wants their agenda to prove triumphant.

Let's take the border. We have four governments involved (not including the municipalities): Canadian Federal, Ontario, US Federal and Michigan. What's interesting to me is that on this file the State and Provincial objectives may not necessarily be what the Federal Governments want but in both cases, it is the Federal Governments that have the money.

What is also interesting to me is how this project is being run by bureaucrats whose objectives may also not be known to their political masters. The worst thing that happened to them were the public hearings in Lansing respecting DRIC and in Ottawa respecting Bill C-3.

As a result of the Michigan hearings, the DRIC funding was cut by the Legislature and not vetoed by the Governor. As a result of the Bill C-3 hearings, the Bridge Co. was able to get their story out to counter the slanders and mis- and dis-information.

Moreover, they received this concession from Ed Fast of the Conservative Party

• "I don't believe it's the intention of this committee and this legislation to over-regulate you, although it appears that is your concern here."

Charles Hubbard, the former Liberal Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Transport acknowledged that

• "I think that over the years, your operation has provided great value to Canadian industry. Without it, the city of Windsor probably wouldn't be what Windsor is today."

Even Brian Hicks, Director, Bridge Policy and Programs, Department of Transport gave a major concession by expressing a very narrow view of what Bill c-3 was all about

• "we applaud people adding more capacity, but we want to make sure that it's done in a safe and secure manner...So any time somebody submitted an application to us, whether to add more lanes on the bridge or to alter the bridge or tunnel, we would be looking at the traffic flow, the safety and security matters."
  

In other words, the scope of Bill C-3 has drastically been decreased and that will have to be reflected properly in the Regulations. Everyone it seems is trying to calm down the situation and perhaps pick up on the words of Matthew Moroun at the hearing:

• "We are asking this committee, and especially Transport Canada, to please put down your sword, set this legislation aside, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue, not just at a very formal hearing to discuss the legalese of this legislation, but rather to discuss and brainstorm and cooperate with one another toward an even more successful Ambassador Bridge for the advantage of the operation, the government, and the public."

If that war may be coming to a peaceful conclusion, the guns are blazing in another one. It involves the tension on the Canadian side where the Feds and Ontario are sparring. It is clear that Eddie and the Province have united and are trying to isolate the Feds. They demand, the Feds reject and the Feds are the bad guys.

But the real fight is over ownership of the crossing. I will explain why in another BLOG but MDOT, who made it clear in Lansing, and Ontario want to own the Bridge. You just have to read Ontario's position paper and it becomes perfectly clear. You read what Ontario's Transportation Minister said in "In Business."

After all it makes sense. Look at how much money the State and Province think they can make on tolls across the new bridge especially since the two Federal Governments would be picking up most of the capital costs. Why should the private Bridge Co. make these so-called vast profits when the bureaucrats want them to feather their empires? Just because the Bridge Co. built up the business and spent their money doing so are no reasons NOT to take it away from them. And at no cost too. After all, expropriations or buy-outs are so messy.

Well the Michigan Legislators slapped down MDOT and now Federal Transport Minister Cannon just shot down the Province. Here is part of a speech he gave recently. He makes it absolutely clear who is in charge constitutionally and it is not the Province. What he does not talk about concerning Bill C-3 is even more interesting: ownership.

It is clear that the pro-business Conservatives have finally woken up and figured out that a "socialist" bridge being promoted by certain parties is NOT going to be their legacy. There will be Federal oversight over health, safety and security matters but not "public" ownership on our side. That is my opinion on what he says!

• SPEAKING NOTES FOR THE HONOURABLE LAWRENCE CANNON, MINISTER OF TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES, AT THE 7th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SHORT AND MEDIUM SPAN BRIDGES
  
  MONTREAL, QUEBEC
  AUGUST 24, 2006
  
  Specifically, in April of this year, I tabled Bill C-3, the International Bridges and Tunnels Act. This Bill is currently before the Senate.
  
  The reasons for introducing this bill were clear.
  
  Responsibility for international bridges and tunnels falls within federal jurisdiction, but there is no clear legislative or regulatory authority to deal with these crossings.
  
  In the past, each new international bridge or tunnel required a Special Act of Parliament. Not only did this bog down the legislative agenda, it led to inconsistencies in governance, and in the way we manage our oversight responsibilities.
  
  Bill C-3 confirms federal jurisdiction, and permits us to establish guidelines for the approval of new bridges or tunnels. It gives us the power to set conditions for bridge maintenance and operation, including security –the importance of which I highlighted at the beginning of my remarks.
  
  In the post-September 11 world, the federal government is taking very seriously the safety and security of its international border crossings – specifically, bridge and tunnel infrastructure – and this new legislation will give us the necessary tools to carry out this responsibility.
  
  In other words: we are giving ourselves the powers and the levers to continue moving toward efficient, safe and secure border crossings.
  
  After all, close to 76 per cent of the Canada-U.S. trade in 2005 carried by trucks was concentrated at six border crossing points – Windsor, Fort Erie, Sarnia and Lansdowne in Ontario, Lacolle in Quebec and Pacific Highway in British Columbia.
  
  We need clear and effective authorities. That’s why we introduced this focused legislation – to get moving quickly on securing those authorities.
  
  Ladies and gentlemen, this government knows the important role that your work has in Canada and around the world. Our bridges and tunnels are extremely important to our economy, our mode of transportation and our lives in general.
  
  These bridges are not simply ways to get from one place to another and they should not be thought of as only being structures made of steel. Certainly, our bridges and tunnels bridge Canada’s geography, but they also connect us as a society."