Deep Throat's Detroit/Windsor Border Truth

Don’t ask me how or why but I knew exactly who the caller was the second that the phone rang.

"Blogmeister," the immediately recognizable voice on the phone said. "Would you by chance be available for lunch today around noon?"

Who could mistake that commanding voice? One also knew that his request was an order that could not be disobeyed.

"Of course," I said. "I wasn’t doing anything anyway and I could use an excuse to get out of digging out from the snow drifts piling up in my driveway."

At precisely noon there was a knock on my door and there were my favourite military men to escort me to the waiting limousine.

We drove around for what seemed like a half an hour. I did not know where we were going because the windows were blacked out. When we finally stopped, instead of being in the County mansion as usual, we were instead in an area of relatively modest homes that I assumed was somewhere in the middle of the City. Looking around me I noticed that we were in the 900 block somewhere but as if he was reading my mind my military escort mentioned that "We own all the homes in the area. We changed the numbers on them as well just so people would not know exactly where we are located.”

I chuckled slowly to myself knowing that this was the work of Deep Throat.

Is it so co-incidental that he always calls me around the time when the border file seems completely messed up with the events taking place that make no sense at all? These last few days certainly have been just about the strangest involving the border that I can recall. If anyone could give me guidance as to what was going on, that person was Deep Throat.

"Oh Blogmeister. I see that you are now demanding investigations into all kinds of matters in Windsor! Isn't the border file enough for you?" And a big smile broke out on his face.

As I was ushered into the home I could see that the interior was not as modest as the exterior. It is very much what I imagined an English Gentlemen’s Club might look like. I was escorted into a small dining room where the place-settings already set up just for the two of us.

This was a different Deep Throat today, doing a lot of the talking where before he used to let me arrive at what he wanted me to know. I suspected something was up that was very different. How right I was.

"I am sure Blogmeister that you are as confused as everyone about what is going on." As I nodded my head affirmatively, he went on "In fact, I’m not certain that the people involved really know what is going on either."

I had learned from him to blurt out the shocking so I did. “It’s not such a big surprise to me. It is clear that the so-called Canada/Michigan partnership to beat Moroun is breaking down.”

His hand crashing down on the dining room table almost knocking over the glass of fine French red wine and a big burst of laughter with a “Well done, Blogmeister!” told me I was close to the truth.

I told him that I knew that Canada was the moving force behind this file and that they had wanted to terrorize Moroun into selling out his Ambassador Bridge business cheaply or risk losing his business. “However, how did they ever convince Michigan to go along with this. Why would Michigan work with Canada to beat out an American?”

“My dear Blogmeister. Follow the money! Canada is much more experienced than the bureaucrats in Lansing on public-private partnerships (P3). I am sure you remember Borealis/OMERS’s role in DRTP. In fact one of their officials used to work in Paul Martin’s office when he was the Prime Minister.

P3s used to be big dollar items until the economic melt-down. Didn't you call it:

• "P3 Cocaine
  
  Did you know that we have a number of addicts who are running our Government at the highest levels? I’m not talking about drugs or alcohol. Rather P3s have become the opiate of the politicians and bureaucrats. Officials have been tempted with the newest substance by those who traffic in money."

“Yes,” I blurted out. “The money was certainly tempting all right. $1.83B for the Chicago Skyway and $3.8B for the Indiana Turnpike. Although both roads have had very serious financial problems recently and are in Macquarie’s "needs a lot more looking after" company after their road assets were split off.”

Deep Throat continued, “Those were gigantic sums when the deals were announced and bureaucrats’ eyes everywhere lit up as they salivated at the thought of getting that kind of cash. It meant that effectively they could ignore their own Legislatures’ oversight if private funds would come in like that. Who needed to worry about politicians at Budget times.

MDOT reps were no different. The thought of all of that cash made them an easy ally of Canada. Who could resist that kind of money.”

I figured out what was coming next and said it before Deep Throat could catch his breath. “So the plan was simple. Buy the Ambassador Bridge cheaply. Get a P3 consortium to re-imburse MDOT and Canada for that cost, have them build the twinned bridge and still get in a pile of money on a P3 lease. A no-brainer.”

Deep Throat had a look just like a teacher does when a pupil scored well in a competiton. “Exactly, my friend. But of course there is more. Sarnia/Port Huron.”

“Oh yes, I know all about that.” I exclaimed. “After looking upriver and downriver for a new location, what did they do but build a twinned bridge. Just like the Governments planned to do here.

However, they messed up. The plaza design did not work. They knew they had to fix it and that was going to cost hundreds of millions that they did not have.”

Deep Throat butted in, “P3 it!

That was the solution. And we know that Canada’s Finance Minister added the Blue Water Bridge as one of a list of assets that could be disposed of. I am sure you can see the plan taking shape now.

The Canadians though made a fatal error. They confided their plans to Windsor’s Mayor Edgar (aka Eddie) Francis who gave their secret plan away. That gave Moroun the information he did not know about respecting what was going on and the Government plans. He was ahead of the Governments for years because of that. It was as if he had captured their Enigma machine and could decrypt their messaging.”

On saying that, Deep Throat almost choked from laughter, "See I picked up that “AKA” from you.

Edgar to show his brilliance spilled the beans. What you called Sam Schwartz’s Socialist-type uttering from his Report was all part of the over-all plan. As you wrote in a BLOG:

• "Balanced Traffic between Blue Water Crossing and Windsor-Detroit Crossings
  
  Developing a balanced traffic network between the Sarnia-Port Huron and Detroit-Windsor Crossings would provide benefits without a new crossing but would be compatible with any of the new crossings... It sets aside the profit-motive, which means each facility is competing for the most traffic, with a utilitarian-motive: the greatest good for the greatest number. Such a scheme may require revenue sharing among participants."
  
  That could never happen unless Moroun operated both crossings or he was bought out and a "private" P3 operator ran both.”

CLICK. I could feel the lightbulb in my brain turn on.

I shouted out “I got it. The Canada/MDOT partnership is now in big trouble. Canada never really wanted MDOT as a partner. They were merely a front to get around the US Feds who might be concerned that Canada owned the largest land border crossings between Canada and the US. Just like with Edgar fronting over the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel. Canada did not want the border to become a Dubai ports controversy.

Morever, MDOT was not as good a partner as hoped. With the Michigan economy crumbling, cash was running short. The Michigan Republicans in the Senate became opposed to the DRIC boondoggle while Governor Granholm had trouble even getting her own Party onside with some of her plans.”

“Blogmeister,” my friend said. “you really have learned well.

Now here is something I want you to do. Believe that what the MDOT spokesperson said is true. I know it will be hard but try. When Bill Shreck said this he meant it:

• “Bill Shreck, director of communications for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said MDOT had only heard about the offer late Monday.
  
  "We didn't know anything about the offer, nor should we since you negotiate in private," Shreck said.
  
  "It's an interesting proposition, though."

Of course I am talking about the so-called Canada/Moroun discussions over the proposed sale of the Ambassador Bridge.

It is truly unbelievable that Michigan did not know what was going on before. After all, Canada and MDOT were partners supposedly. Is this how you treat your partner?

I assume that is why you said that the partnership was falling apart. Canada decided that it would take a chance and go it alone”

I stood up and started pacing around the dining room now. “I got it. That is where ex-Michigan Governor Jim Blanchard came in. He is both an ex-Governor of Michigan and ex-US Ambassador to Canada and was also supposedly retained by Canada, Michigan and the US.

He probably sniffed around due to his good Ottawa connections and found out that the Canadians approached Moroun. He was probably annoyed that he was not kept in the loop and then told his buddies at MDOT about it. After all, he IS a Michigander first.

No doubt the MDOT people went ballistic. They were taking enough hits from the Republicans and all of the Moroun lawsuits were getting a bit too close for comfort and now their “partner” was end-running them.

But what I did not understand was why he revealed supposedly the details of the Canada/Moroun negotiations. Obviously, that was designed to make Moroun look bad but how does that help Michigan?”

A look of disappontment crossed Deep Throat’s face briefly, only for a second, but I caught it. “Oh Blogmeister. I was hoping that you understood but obviously you have never entered the world of spy/counter-spy.

That was his cover story in case Canada got mad at him. He could feign innocence. He was taking shots at Moroun. Blanchard had a dual role. He had to keep Canada onside and then his other function.”

“Other function? I questioned. “What other function?”

Deep Throat gave me that look of the cat swallowing the canary. He knew something I did not. “Yes Blogmeister. At the superficial level, he was doing nothing more than discrediting Moroun by making him look greedy.

But there was more to it than that. It was a signal to Moroun that MDOT wanted to talk. After all, the Governor did not mention DRIC in her speech and wanted the $1.6B for Moroun's $400M of toll credits. She talked about that specifically without mentioning Moroun’s name.

Then the big Free Press story about Moroun and the Blue Water Bridge:

• “Steudle is the director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, which operates the Michigan side of the Blue Water Bridge, and he told me this week that he's repeatedly approached Manuel (Matty) Moroun, whose company operates the privately owned Ambassador Bridge, to see if the two bridges could collaborate in providing real-time traffic information for the benefit of drivers entering or exiting the state. But Moroun isn't interested, he said.”

That’s a laugh. If Steudle wanted that kind of a system in place, all he needed to do was call his buddies at the Transportation Ministry in Ontario and up a traffic sign would go. The Ambassador Bridge wait times are already posted. He did not need Moroun's concurrence. It was so ridiculous a comment that anyone could see through it and look for the hidden message being conveyed.

Clearly, at the superficial level, another attack at Moroun but here is the interesting part. It talked about what Moroun supposedly wanted out of the deal. Don’t you find it amazing that no one has said what Canada offered at least as a negotiating position. It seems like just money for Bridge ownership, say in the range of $1.5B. Here is what Blanchard alleged in the Detroit News:

• “Blanchard -- who has acted as a consultant for the state of Michigan as well as the governments of Canada and the United States -- said his comments are based on discussions with officials from both governments. He emphasized, however, that his comments Tuesday were not on behalf of the U.S. government or Transport Canada.
  
  Moroun had asked for $3 billion for the Ambassador plus a percentage of the tolls from the Blue Water Bridge and the go-ahead to build a new bridge that would connect Buffalo, N.Y., and Canada, Blanchard said. "

I told him that I saw that reference and this one in the Free Press subsequently:

• “Former Gov. Jim Blanchard, the onetime U.S. ambassador to Canada who has been lobbying for a new publicly owned Detroit River crossing, said Moroun told a Canadian legislator who approached him about selling the Ambassador last summer that the purchase price would include a piece of the Blue Water Bridge's action -- along with $3 billion and Ottawa's permission for Moroun to build a new bridge near Buffalo.”

I actually started to scratch my head when I said “I did not get it. That deal made no sense. First the price for the Bridge was way too low if DRIC traffic projections of doubling were right. I knew that Moroun wanted to build a bridge in Buffalo but then why would he give up his ownership in Detroit? He lives here unless he was going to change his residency to Buffalo.

But the part that mystified me was that he wanted a piece of the tolls or action at the Blue Water Bridge. That made no sense at all.”

Deep Throat chuckled. “Of course not, No one was to take the comments seriously except for Moroun.

Canada got it right away. They guessed what Blanchard was doing. Not only had he embarrassed them—the bridge offer undercut them totally about kicking Moroun out of the running for building a new bridge, confirmed the Bridge location was the best site for a new bridge and made a mockery of DRIC and their studies—but he was signalling a peace offering as Granholm did.

No wonder Canada, pleased at first about damage to Moroun had to quickly close the story down and get it off the front page before more damage was done:

• “Transport Canada confirms it has held talks with the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, which spans the Detroit River to connect Windsor, Ont., with Detroit.
  
  But a spokesman for Transport Minister John Baird says no offer has been made to buy the bridge from Manuel (Matty) Moroun.
  
  James Kusie says in an email the government has had discussions on a variety of topics with Moroun, but won't comment on the details…
  
  Kusie says the government remains committed to the building of a new bridge, as additional capacity is needed to support the anticipated growth in border traffic.”

In a bloody email…that speaks volumes. Actually, did you notice Transport Canada rubbing it in MDOT's face. Kusie talked about a "new bridge" not a new DRIC bridge. Canada just challenged MDOT. So much for their partnership

No one including Baird had the guts to speak publicly on this or their whole game would have been blown up sky-high! A couple of questions from the media and they were done.”

A second lightbulb went on in my head: “Now I get the picture. Now I understand. Now I know what MDOT is doing"

I saw this in the Free Press Editorial and could not believe what I was reading:

• “Moroun's legal efforts can stall the planning and building of a second crossing, but ultimately they won't stop it. If the Ambassador wants to continue getting a big piece of the border action, it ought to negotiate an agreement under which it would jointly own and operate the Ambassador, the new downriver crossing and maybe even the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. Moroun's company could even share revenue on the new downriver crossing while repairing the Ambassador.
  
  The bridge company, which has done an excellent job of operating the Ambassador, has the capital and expertise to make such a public-private partnership work. If structured properly, such an agreement could protect the bridge company's economic interests while providing the public oversight and governance that a border crossing should have.”

That was the message being conveyed via the Free Press Editorial by MDOT’s Steudle and Blanchard. I heard that they were having a big session with some Free Press Editors. Joe Corradino must have been there too since his name popped up all of a sudden.

That was the second and biggest signal from MDOT. The whole Blue Water Bridge story was a big cover designed though to tell Moroun that the State would deal over that bridge too. I had guessed correctly a long time ago when taking about Schwartz's musings: "That could never happen unless Moroun operated both crossings."

It wanted to partner with Moroun on all of the major border crossings in Michigan and probably, they would pressure Canada into some kind of a deal at the Peace Bridge too. They could embarrass Canada in going along with them or they would threaten to tell all. Blanchard proved the point.

MDOT would get some kind of an ownership interest in Detroit, money for the Blue Water Bridge plaza repairs and the end of a controversy that was getting some Legislators agitated at them.

Moroun would still have a big interest in Windsor/Detroit, a good chunk of Sarnia/Port Huron and the Peace Bridge too.

Why it would not surprise me if they already had a draft of the Wilbur Smith investment grade traffic study, which was bad news on traffic volumes increasing enough to support a DRIC Bridge. On June 1, the Legislature would close down DRIC and they would have to explain the loss 0f $30M+ in the DRIC Boondoggle. Better to get a small prize than nothing at all.”

As I finished, Deep Throat stood up clapping his hands. “Bravo, Blogmeister, Bravo!” he shouted. “Brilliant deduction.

However there is another piece of the puzzle buried in a Detroit News story that was on the Michigan Budget, buried right at the end of it where all the important news is placed:

• “[Republican Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan] Cropsey also is unhappy with Granholm's budget recommendation for the Michigan Department of Transportation. Her proposal calls for reducing operational expenses by $20 million and using that money for road construction to leverage $100 million in matching federal funds. Even so, Michigan will be unable to use an additional $475 million in federal road cash because of inadequate state road funding.
  
  Cropsey said Granholm needs to think about creative solutions such as instituting road tolls and privatizing bridges.
  
  "Maybe we ought to turn the Blue Water Bridge over to the private sector and let them run it," Cropsey said of the bridge between Port Huron and Sarnia, Ontario.”

Clearly Cropsey figured out what was going on or MDOT let him in on the secret for self-preservation. That is a clear signal from him that the Republicans would not get upset at all if Moroun got control over both bridges and that they would support MDOT if that was brought to the Senate Transportation Committee. Of course there would have to be oversight, true oversight and not using that word as a euphemism for ownership as DRIC did.

Moreover, the Senator knows the border file well enough to know that no one would bid on a privatization of the the Blue Water Bridge if facing Moroun's competition in Windsor/Detroit. He already takes away traffic from there”

I was pretty happy with myself to be honest. I had done a pretty good job figuring this all out. Then I asked the big question: “With his opposition caving in, what will Moroun do?”

At precisely that instance, as if by magic, there was a knock on the door. My military escort was there to take me back home.

“An excellent luncheon as usual Blogmeister. Something for us to discuss when we meet next,” Deep Throat said. We shook hands and I left. As the door closed behind me, I wondered when that next call would come!