Is V-DRIC Day Near

The border war rages on with fierce fighting taking place. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent hiring lawyers and consultants to fight the Allies. The major casualty so far seems to be the TRUTH.

A great debate was scheduled to be televised on Detroit TV amongst certain politicians from both sides of the border and the Ambassador Bridge President. Only Dan Stamper of the Bridge Co. had the guts to show up for the recording session.

It was still broadcast but it seems that none of the politicians could attend. After hearing the interview show on WDET radio with Tobocman, Masse and Stamper, did the politicians chicken out, run for cover and hide out of public view afraid that their positions would be found wanting? Our Mayor was invited to attend but could not do so because of another commitment the host said.

As a public service, we bring you a battle-front posting from our BLOG reporter embedded with the Allied forces somewhere in Sandwich or Delray:

We have heard about V-E day (Victory in Europe) and V-J day (Victory over Japan). Are we close to V-DRIC day (Victory over DRIC)?

According to the BBC, Radio Canada, Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, the Allies are waging a heroic battle against the Axis of Evil---those organizations and individuals seeking to destroy our region through the spread of misinformation about the border.

The major weapon of mass destruction of the Axis of Evil is a P3 bridge, a bridge owned in a public-private partnership by carpetbagging financial funds investors and the four Governments of Canada, US, Ontario and Michigan. That weapon, amongst others, is being used to try to terrorize the private enterprise owner of the Bridge Co. into submission. It was a calculated move on the part of the Axis of Evil forces designed to force him to capitulate quickly to save his business. That action failed miserably as the 2 1/2 page spread in the Globe and Mail demonstrated.

Rumour has it that the Axis of Evil forces are in disarray with considerable finger-pointing going on trying to lay the blame on each of the other partners. An effort was made to regroup by trying to hijack an Inter-Parliamentary group session in Windsor. However, even in the absence of Allied forces, that attack failed as well. No resolution was passed to help them out!

Already one major battle-loss has been inflicted on this Axis of Evil P3 concept: Michigan has no legislation that permits it! Given the animosity of the Michigan Legislatures to DRIC, it would seem unlikely that such legislation would be passed.

The radio stations reported that the Underground has issued a major call to arms against the P3 concept:

• "Oberstar, DeFazio Caution States on PPPs
  Letter warns governors not to rush into partnerships that can undermine the national highway system
  
  WASHINGTON – The Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit are warning states against rushing into public-private partnerships involving national highways.
  
  In a letter sent to governors, state legislators, and state transportation officials on Friday, Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar (Minn.) and Subcommittee Chairman Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.) said many such arrangements, also called PPPs, do not protect the public interest.
  
  “Although we invite all financing options to be on the table as we evaluate opportunities to increase investment in our nation'’ infrastructure, we strongly caution you against rushing into PPPs that do not fully protect the public interest, the integrity of the national system, and which do not constitute a sustainable national system of transportation financing,” the Chairmen wrote.
  
  The letter expressed strong concerns over states and local authorities leasing toll facilities to private operators.
  
  “These deals make good business sense to the companies that are investing in the projects, but we have serious concerns about whether these transactions offer a net balance of benefits for the American public,” it read.
  
  The letter further cited the Bush Administrations efforts to promote highway PPPs, to the point of drafting model legislation for states to adopt. The Committee is preparing a discussion paper to present its concerns in more detail and answer the Administration’s claims.
  
  The Chairmen advised the states that the Committee could take action against some PPPs in the next surface transportation bill, due in 2009.
  
  “The Committee will work to undo any state PPP agreements that do not fully protect the public interest and integrity of the national system,” the letter read."

Some on the Axis of Evil side are secretly joyous that P3s are losing favour since they want a totally 100% "Public" bridge. However they must be suffering from battle fatigue. They have been unable to figure out how to sucker taxpayers into paying the billions required. They fail to recognize that both Michigan and Ontario have major financial problems, the US is fighting another major war and Canada has voters in Quebec and in the 416 and 905 area code districts to buy with their own money to gain a majority government.

The Axis of Evil, according to reports, is losing support quickly as news spreads about "public" bridges becoming more like "private enterprise" organizations. In the hearings in front of the Senate, Thomas Garlock, general manager of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission stated:

• "While we are private, public benefit corporations, we bring an entrepreneurial business-like approach to how we operate these crossings. I can tell you that at the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission there is a period from 1995 through about 2005 where our expenses dropped every year. A new general manager had been brought on and the board had a new and entrepreneurial business-like approach. We stripped out a lot of unnecessary overhead. It was unusual. Deloitte & Touche has been our auditor since 1941 and they cannot cite many organizations where the expense line went down and the revenue line went up. We operate very much like private sector interests."

Ron Rienas, General Manager, Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority stated:

• "The Peace Bridge is very similar in a sense that we operate much like the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission with private sector principles."

Moreover, they sound like private operators when setting their tolls:

• "BTOA members are financially independent and fund their operations and capital improvements from toll revenue. It is that revenue that is pledged to bond holders to raise capital for significant projects.
  
  As I am certain you can appreciate, bond holders require that issuers have the ability, means, and flexibility to manage their revenue sources in such a way that debt obligations are repaid according to contractually agreed terms..."

Garlock again

• "...but I can tell you that all of my toll revenue is first pledged to the bond holders. The bond holders get paid before I do. The bond holders get paid before the bridge is painted. The bond holders get paid before we build facilities for Canada Border Services Agency."

Here's another example given in a hearing in the Ontario Legislature some years ago by the secretary-treasurer and Canadian officer of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority:

• "...most not-for-profit international bridges are already bound into major infrastructure expansion programs financed by private United States bond issues. The indentures already include fairly aggressive toll increase schedules over the next decade calculated to the maximum point of consumer resistance."

In other words, it appears that these public bridges are really private enterprise wannabees. Trouble is they cannot operate as efficiently as a real private enterprise operator since it is not their own personal money at risk as at the Ambassador Bridge. They just do not how to do it properly.

We can see the result as I have blogged before:

• "A US Federal Highway Administration Report stated:
  "the scatter plot of the Ambassador Bridge Crossing comes closest to the "ideal" shape demonstrating a consistently low crossing time for both inbound and outbound traffic. At the other end of the spectrum, (...Blue Water Bridge, and Peace Bridge crossings respectively) have a less desirable distribution of volume/time data points. All, to varying degrees, show a horizontal distribution of points, meaning there is significant time variability across similar volumes...
  
  Crossing times at the Ambassador Bridge POE are clearly superior and more consistent than any other port of entry in the study. While, like other ports, inbound crossing times exceed outbound crossing times, the margin of difference is significantly narrower and more consistent. Further, lower crossing times are achieved despite the bridge having a consistently higher volume of traffic...
  
  It also compared the two bridges and said "For example, at the Ambassador Bridge, the buffer index for inbound truck traffic was just over 65 percent. This indicates that, even with its substantial volume of traffic, operators of the Ambassador Bridge sustained movement across the bridge without imposing lengthy increases in delay times. Contrasting markedly with this was the inbound buffer index at the Peace Bridge of 266 percent."
  
  
  
  It also said about the Peace Bridge "the potential exists for motor carriers to be significantly delayed when traveling from Canada into the United States at this location."

What can be done to get the best approach? There is finally the answer....it seems that the major border crossings should emulate the partnership between the private Bridge Co. and the Governments in Windsor/Detroit.

It is NOT a P3 partnership with exploiters who just come in to make a buck but a true alliance with a Government. It is more in the nature of a statutory partnership set out in legislation amongst the parties that has worked successfully for about 80 years. It has the best of both worlds.

Those who wish to rip apart that relationship to achieve their secret agenda have seen all of their reasons fall away once their false stories are examined thoroughly.

• Traffic volumes increasing--wrong.


• Capacity---wrong.


• Congestion---wrong.


• Destruction of Sandwich or Delray or both--wrong.


• Security---wrong.


• Redundancy---wrong


• Road system---wrong!

The way forward has been identified by a US Government Report

• "It's not known at this point whether the reason for this difference in performance is a function of policy, bridge ownership, tactics, infrastructure, capacity, or facility design, but clearly, the operations and/or facilities at the Ambassador Bridge port of entry seems to be one worthy of study."

One would hope that there are secret talks ongoing now to end the hostilities. We understand that an impartial third party was trying to set up Peace negotiation discussions in a secret rendezvous--a private suite in the Windsor East end arena. However, since its construction has been delayed, a new location is being sought.

As the battle rages on, the Allied forces are getting stronger and stronger. Rumour has it that the Allies' special forces have a secret weapon--a TRUTH bomb. They are in the midst of a major campaign that could end the war so suddenly and so completely that the Bridge Co. no longer needs to negotiate.

Apparently, a lightening strike is planned that could force the Parliament Building to crumble as was reported in the Press the other day!

Reporting from the battle-front. Now back to you in the Studio!