Billion Dollar Bridge Coming

Yes, dear reader, the Transport Canada Minister said that it is coming. I know it has been a long time and you thought that the Federal Government did not have the funds or the will to do so. However, when push comes to shove, the Conservatives will deliver.

Oh, you thought that I meant the new DRIC bridge for Windsor/Detroit. Or perhaps approvals being given for the Enhancement Project in an expeditious fashion. Don't be silly. That is only important for the economic prosperity of Canada and the United States as our Governments keep telling us.

This is for something really important. Getting a seat for the Conservatives in the next by-election.

Don't you understand that the only thing that is important to a politician is being in power. That is why I suggested a long time ago that, if Brian Masse only crossed the floor of the House of Commons, and left the NDP where he's accomplished nothing, to join the Government, not only would he get a Cabinet position but we would have a solution to the border mess.

For that reason alone because he did not follow my suggestion, he ought to be tossed out as the MP for Windsor West at the next election.

Susan Whelan should be smiling. Jeff Watson could not deliver after all of this time yet the Conservatives can spend a billion in Quebec.

Here's the story from the Globe and Mail:

• "Ottawa promises new bridge in Quebec by-election riding
  
  OTTAWA — The Harper government promised yesterday to build a new $1-billion bridge between Montreal and the South Shore, just three weeks before a by-election in a suburban riding that would directly benefit from the new link.
  
  The voters of Saint-Lambert are used to traffic jams during their 3.4-kilometre rush-hour drives over the Champlain Bridge, which is their main link with Montreal Island to the northwest.
  
  The Conservative candidate in the Sept. 8 by-election in the riding, Patrick Clune, recently promised that if he is elected, he will take up the matter with the government "the day after" his victory.
  
  But Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon one-upped him yesterday, announcing in a front-page story in the Montreal Journal that a new bridge is already on order. "We are starting to plan for the construction of a new bridge in the Montreal region," the minister said.
  
  Mr. Cannon added yesterday that there are 59 million crossings on the Champlain every year, and that he has asked his officials to prepare scenarios for a new crossing, which could include tolls.
  
  "A new bridge clearly will alleviate a lot of the traffic congestion," he said on a CBC Radio drive-in show, adding the goal is to increase the number of lanes and improve public transit.
  
  Saint-Lambert has been in the hands of the Bloc Québécois since the 2004 election, after having been Liberal for the previous seven years. The Conservatives are now hoping to run up the middle and take over the riding with their talk of increased "autonomy" for Quebec within Canada.
  
  But yesterday's bridge pledge was derided by the opposition as a typical election promise. In an interview, Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe said the announcement is the proof that contrary to Mr. Clune's assertions, the electors of Saint-Lambert do not need to elect a Conservative MP to obtain their bridge.
  
  "It's Bloc MPs that force the government to act," Mr. Duceppe said, adding the bridge pledge is similar to past Liberal promises to build a highway in the Montreal area.
  
  The New Democratic Party candidate in Saint-Lambert, Richard Marois, denounced the timing of the Conservative announcement as "opportunistic." Still, he said he agrees with the construction of a new bridge, as long as it includes a public-transit component.
  
  Federal officials said in recent weeks that they were holding off on certain announcements during the by-election campaigns, particularly the news that Quebec City and Ottawa were set to sign a major $4-billion infrastructure deal.
  
  Still, the coming by-election did not prevent the bridge announcement. The Federal Bridge Corp. has told Mr. Cannon that the government would be better off to build a new link than to continually repair the 46-year-old Champlain. The construction of the new bridge is expected to take 10 to 15 years, and Mr. Cannon has asked the Crown corporation to prepare scenarios for the new bridge, which he would then take to cabinet for approval."