Now We Know: A Windsor Tunnel Was Always A Joke

Did you hear the big crashing sound last night, a few minutes after Council started. That was Windsor's phony Tunnel dream collapsing in front of us.

I wonder what justification the Star Editorial Board and Gord Henderson will use to deal with this turn of events. I wonder if Gord's canoeing friend, Councillor Alan rub it in his face?

"City of Windsor advise DRIC that they must have a tunnelled solution as the design of the highway through the selected corridor with an absolute imperative to mitigate any and all impacts on local residents and the community as a whole from Windsor Border Traffic."

That was the Tunnel Motion "resolution" clause that Bill Marra introduced: simple, straight-forward and to the point.

And he withdrew it last night at Council to be heard as part of something else who knows when!

In effect, Bill called the bluff of Eddie Francis and his Council colleagues and showed them lacking. He at least advocated for a tunnel in the 2003 mayoral race so we can excuse him. But the others, they all backed off. None had the guts to have it heard. No wonder there was no seconder. Poor Gord, poor Windsor Star, played like the suckers they now know they are.

Windsor deserves a tunnel----BS! We demand a better quality of life---BS! Elect us and we'll fight for you---BS! Just elect us is what this was all about!

I expect that Eddie finally realized that his Tunnel, Tunnel, Tunnel cry had played as long as it could. It was about as good as his Schwartz, Schwartz, Schwartz losing campaign. But he got a year out of it to stall off the Feds and Province so he accomplished what he wanted, just like the 2 year stall with Schwartz. That was his version of an "interim control by-law" on the border!

Eddie is just so brilliant isn't he and so tactical as Windsor dies a slow death waiting for a border solution.

Eddie could not afford to have the Motion voted on and passed. That would have been the City's position and could not have been changed under the Procedural By-law for the time period set out in the By-law. No wonder some Councillors had doubts that they expressed in the Star. I have heard several Councillors say that Eddie has a new plan (although they do not know what it is ) so that is obviously why the Motion could not go forward. As one Councillor told me a long time ago, Eddie always has a PLAN.

Eddie is not dumb. He must have known that we were never getting a tunnel: cost, lack of scrubbing, new diesel and fuel technology, bad precedent. He must be furious at Marra that Bill ruined his timing with his Motion.

Now we know why Bill was asked to defer the Motion last week too. In fact, I heard that several Councillors were going to blindside Bill with a new Motion or an amended one, if needed, so he had no chance whatsoever.

So tell me please, what is Windsor's position today? Schwartz is gone, the Tunnel is gone, our friends are gone. What's left other than negotiating from a position of weakness with the Bridge Co.? Oh don't be silly, I know that Eddie's real interest is the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel but he messed that up too. So to boost his so-called power to negotiate, he tosses grenades at the Bridge Co. to stall them too---enemy talk, Estrin letters, Interim Control by-law, Heritage designation for Sandwich, refusal to meet etc etc etc. Such immature childishness.

And what is Mike Hurst to do now since a tunnel won't be built. That means no Rails to Trails. Now no one will want his corridor even to link it with the Ambassador Bridge's enhanced bridge! I guess it is truly now "Rails to Fails!"

I expect that Eddie will want to meet again soon with the Senior Levels to try out some new, brilliant ploy of his. His Chief of Staff will call demanding a meeting. "Reluctantly," they will let him come to Ottawa or Toronto. I can just imagine though the joy that certain Senior Level bureaucrats will have in cutting him short and telling him that the $300M BIF money is gone. They will tell Eddie to come back when Windsor knows what it wants--say in 10-15 years.

Just so you won't worry, they will come back but our road to the enhanced Ambassador Bridge will incorporate E C Row. And Eddie will grab it as his career life-preserver. He will declare that as a victory too.

Hmmm I wonder when Eddie will tell the Councillors about all of this and then us. I would think that this is one story that he won't tell the Star in advance either. As Gord said "Little wonder folks have lost faith in politicians."