The Ambassador Bridge And How Canada's Foreign Policy Failed

I am rather surprised that our national media have not dumped more on the Government for the disastrous results suffered by Prime Minister Harper at the Three Amigos Summit. Can it be any worse for our relationship with the US when one considers:

• Harper was snubbed by President Obama who met the Mexican PM one-on-one but not our leader
• The President brushed off Harper's big concerns about protectionism as if he did not care, because he did not
• The shortness of the meeting and the lack of any significant results makes a mockery of the Canadian strategy for dealing with the US and suggests again that Ambassador Wilson has more than overstayed his welcome
• The visa fiasco and the Derek Burney approach failed to appreciate the importance of Mexico to the US to our detriment
• NAFTA-gate still rules!

I mentioned to you last week an article in Embassy Magazine.

"Trilateralism Vs. Bilateralism
Should Canada cozy up to the U.S. while angling Mexico out?"

I was annoyed at the Canadian position set out in the article especially when I saw who was involved. I had written about the Report mentioned in it before and had criticized it. I was horrified that this Report was the basis of our policy with the US especially since it seems to be failing with the Obama snub of Harper in Mexico:

• "At the time, few knew whether From Correct to Inspired: A Blueprint for Canada-U.S. Engagement, would have much bearing on the Harper government's approach to North America. A product of Carleton University's Centre for Trade Policy and Law, the blueprint was delivered on the eve of President Obama's inauguration. It counselled the government to exclude Mexico from some policy discussions in hopes of cozying up closer to the United States.
  
  Experts across the continent say the report has made a deep impression on the Harper government's approach to continental affairs, which will be centre-stage this weekend in Guadalajara when Mr. Harper meets Mr. Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon for the annual North American leaders summit. And not everyone is happy with the results.
  
  While it was written with the input of intellectuals from across Canada and the United States, the report was produced by a clique of experienced NAFTA experts, some of whom were directly involved in the treaty's negotiation.
  
  Among them were former Canadian ambassador to Washington Derek Burney, a trusted adviser of the Harper government..."

Accordingly, I Blogged about the article and sent my BLOG to the reporter on the story. He invited me to do a Letter on my thoughts respecting the bridge situation and his article. Here is what I sent. I do hope they decide to publish it. I am sure it will shake up some people. It is exactly meant to do so!

For my new readers, it gives an overview of the border situation from my perspective that, in my opinion, will be the lightening rod for further deterioration in our relationship with our biggest trading partner.

=====================================

The introduction to the article by Jeff Davis (Trilateralism Vs. Bilateralism) intrigued me. Why would he write out of the blue something that only Windsorites care about:

• “The cold January day he received a ready-made policy for engagement with the United States in the age of Obama, Prime Minister Stephen Harper wore a blue blazer, striped tie and a smile as wide as the Ambassador Bridge.”

The answer is obvious. Harper now has the way that he can try for the fourth time to convince an American President to help him take over the privately owned Ambassador Bridge from its American owner, Matty Moroun. He has tried twice with President Bush and once with President Obama already.

Ever since the Globe and Mail published a 2 ½ page spread on Moroun, the Canadian Government knew that its plan to terrorize him into selling out cheaply failed! Harper would try again at the Three Leaders’ Summit meeting in Guadalajara.

As someone who has been involved in and Blogged about the border file extensively over the last 7 years, this fascination over the Bridge by Canadian Governments has been nothing short of amazing. It would appear that the desire to take over the Bridge has spanned a half a century going back to the time of John Diefenbaker to Mitchell Sharp’s Third Option period to FIRA and now the International Bridges and Tunnels Act time-frames. Can you believe that a Conservative Government adopted Liberal legislation so whole-heartedly!

What is not clear is why. If Moroun was a poor operator of this key commercial crossing, it would be understandable. Except his border crossing was recognized by the US Government as being the best operated and it was supposed to be the model crossing for Canada. Public ownership of an important border crossing …pshaw…it is to be handed to a P3 private partner for a period of as much as 99 years.

The real reason has never been explained publicly as far as I know.

Oh, Governments on both sides of the river have spent $60 million on the Detroit River International Crossing study that supports spending billions on a new P3 bridge a mile downriver from the existing bridge. And this is after the US Government, Michigan and the Bridge Company spent $250M on the almost-completed Ambassador Gateway project at the existing bridge which, on its own, can handle twice the volume at the Bridge now without another bridge.

So what if the project, one of the biggest in Michigan’s history, was also designed to accommodate another span as the Bridge Company proposes to build to smooth out traffic flow by adding another lane in each direction for FAST and NEXUS vehicles. So what if a lawsuit has been started over this already, probably the first of many, that can take decades to resolve to the economic detriment of both countries. So what if the DRIC bridge would wipe out the Delray community in Michigan. It’s an American Environmental Justice issue, not ours.

We have heard all the reasons from the need to increase capacity because of the expected doubling of traffic in the next 20 years, to security and then to redundancy. Unfortunately, as often happens with the best laid plans, they do not pan out. Traffic has fallen dramatically so that there is no economic justification for a new bridge and its building could bankrupt other border crossings as each fights for the reduced volumes. Security and redundancy concerns can be easily met by reverse customs (Minister Van Loan’s suggestion of a pilot project at the Windsor-Detroit border mysteriously disappeared). The world economic meltdown has killed the P3 market so it is unlikely the project can be financed as the Minister of Finance had hoped.

My own view is that this really all started as a legitimate economic nationalism concern. There was a need for Canada to have influence over the Corridors and Gateways into the US (as the Transport Canada Policy Paper recognizes). In this way, the Canadian economy can be protected from the periodic US protectionism shocks that take place at the worst possible moments for us. We have Ministers in charge of our Atlantic and Pacific gateways now and it seems that the PM has taken the Central Canada Gateways, which includes the Ambassador Bridge, under his wing.

We don’t talk about economic nationalism much do we? Instead, we focus on “border thickening” as a problem so the Americans think they are in control. However, our Governments work diligently to try to take over the Bridge and the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel, P3 the Blue Water Bridge so both sides can be in friendly hands and now we want again “shared border management” in Fort Erie/Buffalo on the Canadian side of the river.

Toss in excessive profits as a motive to corrupt good intentions too---there are billions for a P3 operator to make in a “concession-type” deal. This can no longer be a true P3 deal because of the credit crisis. It will turn into some kind of a Government guarantee or financing arrangement such as that being proposed for the multi-billion dollar DRIC road to the bridge that will make the successful bidder a fortune over its term.

Now we know why Moroun has to go. In each area, his bridge and his proposed one in Buffalo/Fort Erie have proven to be a block to the Government’s road to success.

Back to the Davis article. Its Derek Burney inspired theme is to toss out Mexico from the Trilateral talks as the Carleton University “From Correct to Inspired: A Blueprint for Canada-U.S. Engagement” Report proposes so Canada and the US can discuss their important issues without Mexican hindrance.

Not a word about the border or the Ambassador Bridge specifically. But just read into the Davis article our border file as part of the PM’s hidden agenda. The approach would be to achieve a bilateral solution between Canada and the US, say by taking over the Ambassador Bridge to "control" the border more effectively, and then use that precedent in Mexico by later "inviting Mexico to join once the foundation has been laid."

We are such clever people. Keep on trying to sucker Obama. Keep on rubbing his face in it by reminding him of NAFTA-gate. Haven’t we learned our lesson yet? Beating up on the US Homeland Security Secretary did not work. Janet Napolitano still has her job and drones are flying over Canada as we have to show our passport to enter the US.

Wouldn’t it make sense for our Government to talk to Moroun and work with him to improve our border for the advantage of everyone rather than to expect that an American President and Congress would allow a foreign Government, even Canada, to control its commercial entrances and exits. Doesn’t anyone at our Washington Embassy remember the Dubai ports controversy?

Let’s keep it up. Let’s make one tiny, little bridge between Canada and the US our new softwood lumber dispute with the US by the time this is over.

Is Eddie Galvanized, Again

He ought to be given our #1 status as being the City with the highest unemployment rate in Canada for how long. And there still is no Undevelopment Commission CEO.

Remember what he said before:

• "Francis galvanized by Maclean's grade
  
  You'd think no mayor in his right mind would ever want to hear in a national news journal he's at the helm of one of the country's worst-run cities.
  
  But Eddie Francis indicates he can actually put to good use a new survey by Maclean's magazine, which gives Windsor a slew of failing grades in categories of municipal governance, taxation, finance, transportation, environmental health and recreation.
  
  While not the worst Canada has to offer, Windsor is in the gutter, with an overall ranking of 26 out of 31 cities examined and rated on cost-efficiency and effectiveness...
  
  "I guarantee you ... we will be ahead of more than our fair share of cities," he said, adding the Maclean's study "reinforces the urgency of what we're doing."

Yes, job creation is so urgent. Why it is so urgent for our Mayor, who went overseas to discuss with his foreign-retained consultants their report about building a cargo centre that will take years to achieve if ever, and our County Warden, who has to prepare for his nomination meeting tommorrow, that this happened:

• "Joint council meeting cancelled
  
  A joint meeting of Windsor and Essex County councils scheduled for today to discuss job creation has been postponed.
  
  Councillors were to hear from members of the Workforce Development Board of Windsor Essex about two studies it has completed.
  
  One says the construction of a new border crossing will create 15,185 jobs and more co-ordination is required to ensure local residents get as many of those jobs as possible.
  
  The other, called an Integrated Local Labour Market Plan, sets out the current job situation in the region and sets out how future opportunities should be pursued...
  
  The meeting with city and county council will likely be rescheduled for September, said Tony Paniccia, who heads the workforce development board."

"Likely?" Maybe. Here is how the City's website describes it:

• "Please be advised that there will be a special joint meeting of City / County Councils respecting "Economic Development and Jobs Creation Strategy" to be scheduled in the near future. (This meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday August 13, 2009 but has been cancelled for that date.)"

Oh I so hope that nothing more important comes up again. But what the heck, they got their Star headline about 15,000 jobs to help Eddie bury Greenlink. That is all that counts.

Time For Citizens For Jobs Now To Act

Wow, some readers are very demanding:

• "Hope all is well with you. I am surprised not to see you out with a major piece on the Star story about the American side not interested in building a second bridge. No land assembled and grumbling over what was spent studying the idea.
  
  Or is the mother of all blogs coming soon and it is like ordering a sultan's meal, it takes a little longer?"

The truth is that I cannot get too upset over this stuff considering the lawsuits started already and the new ones that are sure to come. It took over a decade to settle the FIRA matter.

More importantly, no one has really discussed the crossing in the context of the Obama snub of PM Harper in Mexico and the American focus on the southern border. That is the main reason that nothing will be done here for who knows how long.

There is no US Federal Government need to do anything since the Bridge Company is handling the border so well. Why would they want to sink more money, after the hundreds of millions of dollars already spent on the Ambassador Gateway project a mile away from a DRIC crossing, to satisfy the economic nationalistic ambitions of the NAFTA-gate Prime Minister?

So that kills the DRIC bridge and the road to the bridge because one cannot build a road to nowhere.

The Star story is nothing more than a repeat of what the Detroit News already reported several days ago and a rehash of past stories about what Michigan lawmakers have already said.

The Detroit News stated:

• "Delray residents wait as new bridge to Canada is debated
  
  Delray resident Kyle Osborne feels like he and his neighbors are in real-estate limbo.
  
  For months, Osborn and scores of other Delray residents have waited to find out whether their homes and businesses are going to be purchased in order to make way for the long anticipated Detroit River International Crossing; a second bridge stretching between southwest Detroit and Windsor, Ontario...
  
  On the American side, the Michigan Department of Transportation has made no movement at all, saying it has purchased no property in the area because of a legislative logjam created in Lansing.
  
  "We have bought zero," said Bill Shreck, MDOT director of communications.
  
  "We haven't purchased any property because in the last two or three budget bills, language has been inserted that keeps us from doing just that." Leading the charge against the bridge is Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, who has called the $1.8 billion span a "boondoggle."
  
  Among his objections were that the bridge would be built with taxpayer money and was based on faulty traffic predictions. Cropsey, who represents the 33rd District, supports plans by Moroun to build a new Ambassador Bridge at a cost of $1.5 billion...
  
  Among his objections were that the bridge would be built with taxpayer money and was based on faulty traffic predictions. Cropsey, who represents the 33rd District, supports plans by Moroun to build a new Ambassador Bridge at a cost of $1.5 billion.
  
  According to the Detroit River International Crossing Project, the bridge, plaza and freeway access to the project would be financed three ways.
  
  The bridge would be paid for by bonds that would be repaid by tolls. The cost of the plaza would be paid by the federal government, and 80 percent of the freeway access costs would be paid by the federal government with 20 percent coming from MDOT."

Naturally, the ridiculous Brighton Beach deal has caused values in Delray to sky-rocket or at least that is what I would claim if I was an attorney for a Delray resident being condemned. That ought to please the cash-short Michigan Legislators a lot!

Of course the financing is a joke. The DRIC tolls would have to be set so high to pay back the bonds that no one would use the Bridge. The US Feds need the money for other matters. Where MDOT will get the money is beyond me since they cannot pay for immediate road projects they need now.

The Star story merely re-emphasized what was said for Canadian readers:

• “New bridge called a 'boondoggle'
  
  Michigan hasn't purchased one acre of land
  
  The Canadian government is wasting its money acquiring land for a new bridge across the Detroit River because the costly project will never go ahead, a U.S. lawmaker said Monday.
  
  Ottawa has so far paid $34 million to the City of Windsor for 94 acres of land -- and is negotiating with 10 other property owners for a total of 202 acres. Michigan, however, not only has yet to purchase a single acre, but has not yet even given approval to buy any land, said Bill Shreck, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation.
  
  "This isn't a done deal at all," said Senate Majority Floor Leader Alan Cropsey, a Republican and the leading opponent of the taxpayer-funded bridge. "If Canadian taxpayers want to blow money on purchasing land, that's their prerogative. We blew money ($2 million) on a useless bridge study here in Michigan.
  
  "But absolutely, it's a waste. It's a boondoggle..."
  
  Cropsey said that in order for the Michigan Department of Transportation to buy any land, it must win votes in the Michigan house and legislature. He questions whether the project will even come to a vote, since a number of Michigan politicians oppose the public project…
  
  "But Michigan taxpayers are hurting right now. And this is a prime example of wasteful spending."

Accordingly, Mark Butler is being the good spokesperson as he is forced to say with a straight face:

• “The governments of Canada, the United States, Michigan and Ontario have been working on this for five years," Butler said. "That binational partnership is committed to seeing a new crossing between Windsor and Detroit that is subject to appropriate public oversight.”

By the way, “oversight” means ownership in DRIC-speak.

However, let’s assume that oversight means oversight. We could have the basis of a compromise. What Mark’s words can mean is that the Enhancement Bridge can be built---a new crossing---with appropriate oversight---as in Bill C-3.

What about the obscene overpayment for the purchase of Brighton Beach. How does that fit in? The reality is that the Feds had no choice. They took their anti-Moroun crusade too far and did not have a way back out.

They need to save face

I am going to help out Sean O’Dell here. I am going to give him some assistance in how to explain away the purchase so the Auditor General will not get too mad at him. Reread my BLOG for the rationale to use, Sean, if you have not already done so: March 19, 2009 “How A Kangaroo May Save Sean O'Dell.”

And in case it bothers him to go Down Under because he does not want to go down under in his career, here is how Maine is salvaging their situation with traffic going down:

• Maine Turnpike puts off widening project on lower traffic forecast
  
  Maine Turnpike Authority's ten year plan forecasts much slower growth in traffic, and as a result a widening project through the western edge of the Portland area is being deferred at least five years. Traffic on the Maine Turnpike grew steadily from around 100k/day in 1990 to an average 170k/day in 2004 and remained at about that level through 2007. But last year was down to 166k and this year it is heading for a further 4% drop to about 160k/day.
  
  Deferred until about 2015 is a third laning project between milepost 44 at the I-295 interchange in Scarborough and milepost 52 at the Falmouth spur, a 13km, 8 mile stretch along the western edge of the greater Portland area. The Turnpike is already 2x3 lanes from MP44 south to the New Hampshire border.
  
  HNTB, general consultants to Maine Turnpike Authority say in the draft ten year planning report: "total Turnpike trips in 2008 were at their lowest point since 2003. And data from the first 6 months of 2009 suggests that this decline will continue through 2009…
  
  "They propose to continue with a modernization of the MP44-MP52 segment involving reconstruction of cross bridges to higher vertical clearances and longer spans with the abutments set back to provide for extra lanes, widening of shoulders and clear zones.
  
  The ten year plan calls for a variety of less spectacular projects than widening…
  
  it is what Dan Paradee of the Turnpike calls "pretty much bread and butter stuff."

In case Sean has trouble understanding what I am getting at, I will spell it out in very simple terms so even a bureaucrat can understand it: build the Enhancement Bridge project as the interim step, build the road to the Ambassador Bridge, protect the corridor and then build a new bridge at the appropriate time.

As I have said before, the only way that jobs can be created is if the Canadian Government and Moroun can figure out a way to work together. That will result in the Enhancement Bridge being built. That would necessitate a road to the bridge. That would create jobs.

Citizens For Jobs Now needs to focus on getting the Feds and the Bridge Company together or we are facing a decade or two of economic disruption on this region. It is time for Citizens For Jobs Now to start getting vocal.

Oh, there is one more Star story to consider. It provides the "jobs now" excuse for Eddie to back off:

• "15,185 Border jobs projected
  Report on crossing, parkway goes to councils
  
  The construction of a new border crossing and access road is expected to create 15,185 jobs in Windsor and Essex County, says a report that went to city and county councillors over the weekend."

The key lines were buried at the bottom of the story as is usual with the Star:

• "Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said the environmental assessment for the Windsor-Essex Parkway road goes to cabinet this week.
  
  The city was pushing for changes to the province’s border road plan, but has been working closely with the federal and provincial governments in recent months to get the project moving, Mayor Eddie Francis said.
  
  The mayor said he’s hopeful that once cabinet has the environmental assessment, the city and province can come to an agreement.
  
  According to the province’s plan, construction could start as early as 2010 and would take at least three years."

Notice the past tense of the language. The deal has been long done. No wonder Dwight will pay for Red Bull again.

Take down that darn Greenlink banner already! It is dead with its stall mission accomplished. Sure we have to worry about kids and backpaths and death and destruction as Eddie and the Star warned us. However, this is all poltiics now since it is re-election time as unconscionable as it may seem to be.

Eddie's Pie In The Skies Idea

It's just too funny! A real pie in the skies idea from our Mayor. Not just like the Canal which will be coming soon to a theatre (or a Council chambers) near you.

I wonder if Eddie had to go recently to Germany to make sure that the Report was done well. For $220,000, a foreign consultant whose business is more than 4-500 Kms away from here has determined:

• "They’ve basically said this is the pie and does YQG have an opportunity to get a slice of this pie?” said Francis.
  
  “The answer is yes. What is the level of the slice? Here it is."

Of course we heard that from Eddie because the public and media were excluded from the meeting. (See previous BLOG)

We need to spend another quarter of a million of taxpayer dollars on foreign consultants to spend months on another study so that Eddie can flog this concept early in election year 2010 even though he has told us on CKLW that he has more important things to do than worry about some municipal election campaign.

Oh, Eddie's plan depends on having this:

• "The study suggests Windsor could work to increase that market share by aggressively promoting the merits of the airport — a relative unknown in the competitive air freight industry — and by consolidating U.S. and Canadian customs and security agencies on site...
  
  City documents detailed in The Star in March discussed a strategy of consolidating U.S. and Canadian inspection and security agencies on site, including “the Canada Border Service Agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, Transport Canada,” and other bodies from both sides of the border."

Uh-huh....shared border management between Canada and the US is dead and we are going to have US Customs here! Get real.

Oh dear, what has Ms. Nazzani been doing for all of this time as the head of the airport. I thought she had been out visiting people and making presentations about YQG. Wasn't she supposed to get our airport's story out there to the trade? Obviously whatever she was doing was a complete failure. Will the Board reconsider her role as this moves forward given what Eddie has said:

• "Key to Windsor’s success at grabbing a slice of the action will be what Francis called a “multi-pronged” approach that includes more marketing efforts...
  
  Authors of the Lufthansa study met with freight forwarders and logistics providers who were unaware of what Windsor Airport had to offer, which underscores the need for increased marketing, said Francis.
  
  A lot of people don’t even know Windsor Airport exists,” said Francis.
  
  “But when they’re told about Windsor Airport and where Windsor Airport is and its proximity to Detroit and the advantages here, they determine that there’s value here."

What a vote of non-confidence in her and publicly too. If this is what the Mayor thinks of her, then she ought to submit her resignation immediately!

I wonder if the lady from Air America Logisitics is still around! Here is what I Blogged well over a year ago. She could be a real winner for the airport even though the drop in the freight market killed her business:

• "Remember the story about Air America Logistics and its general manager Vicky Kyriaco-Wilson:
  
  "Air America has also been instrumental in spinoff work at the airport -- for fuel sales, ground handling equipment, local trucking services and maintenance work.
  
  More than 800 aircraft movements associated with Air America occurred last year involving DC-8 jets, Boeing 727s, Boeing 737s, DC-9s and numerous other small jets.
  
  The company handled more than 5.4 million pounds of freight last year.
  
  "We're the lynchpin that keeps the cargo aspect humming over here," Kyriaco-Wilson said."
  
  Perhaps airport general manager Federica Nazzani might want to pick up the phone and give her a call. I am sure that she has probably done so. However, Federica's response concerning her lack of experience in the airline business was rather smarmy
  
  "She dismissed criticism of her lack of aviation experience: "It's true I don't have that experience. But I would point to the prior manager (Serco) who did -- and that didn't work out very well."

I do not want to be rude but is Eddie still studying how to charter a plane to send Windsorites out West to find jobs and to bring them back on weekends? If he cannot do that simple scheme after all of this time, how can he possibly be involved in the cargo business.

All talk, talk, talk and consultant reports....never any action. Well of course not, then you cannot be blamed for failure!

The Story The Star Would Not Publish

Dear reader, if you are still a Star newspaper subscriber, you may have missed this story that was posted online.

I do not know if it was published in the paper because I no longer subscribe to it. It was not included in the "Printed Edition" stories on the Star website that I could find.

Better just to have the positive Eddie stories.

• "Francis bars media from YQG meeting
  By Donald McArthur, The Windsor Star August 11, 2009
  
  WINDSOR, Ont. -- Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis kicked a Star reporter out of a Windsor Airport board meeting held in council chambers Tuesday afternoon, insisting that the meetings are and ought to be closed to the public.
  
  The reporter walked into the public chambers at City Hall shortly after the meeting began about 2 p.m. A host of people who aren’t on the board of YQG — the corporate entity that controls the publicly-owned Windsor Airport — were in attendance.
  
  They included councillors Alan Halberstadt, Fulvio Valentinis and Caroline Postma along with Norma Coleman, Francis's chief of staff.
  
  Councillors Drew Dilkens and Ken Lewenza Jr., who are council’s representatives on the board chaired by Francis, were also in attendance. A handful of others The Star reporter could not identify were also present.
  
  Francis was near the public gallery in council chambers fiddling with a slide projector when the reporter entered the room. On a large screen behind him was an image of a title page with the heading — Feasibility Study Phase 1, Market Potential Study and Forecast for Windsor Airport YQG.
  
  Francis told the reporter it was a closed meeting and the reporter asked if there had been a motion to go in-camera. Francis replied that there had not been, but that the meeting was still closed to the public and the media.
  
  The reporter questioned whether the public chambers of council was the appropriate venue for a closed meeting of a private corporation and asked further if the item up for discussion was the $220,000 feasibility study for which Windsor taxpayers are paying.
  
  Francis told the reporter that the media wouldn’t have even been aware of the meeting had he not told them and the reporter responded that the meeting was publicly advertised on a sign next to the elevator on the first floor of City Hall.
  
  Francis left the meeting through the public door and returned several minutes later through the rear entrance to assume the chair. He welcomed two board members via teleconference — he referred to them as Renato and Jack and there is a Renato Discenza and a Jack Fraser on the board — and then sought a motion to go in-camera.
  
  Francis then said he didn’t need a motion to go in-camera because YQG board meetings were closed-door affairs. He then instructed everyone who didn’t have business with the YQG board to leave the room.
  
  Valentinis slowly rose from his chair and motioned unsurely to himself, but Francis said his order didn’t apply to councillors, who were entitled to remain. The reporter then left the meeting.
  
  There are three political representatives on the board but there are six private sector representatives. They are Discenza, Fraser, Robert Payne, Deborah Dent, Ronald Holden and Bill Robertson.
  
  City council agreed in February to pay Lufthansa Consulting $220,000 to conduct an economic feasibility study into creation of an air cargo and perishable goods centre at Windsor Airport. The study was to take four months to complete and was to determine whether the city can become a viable air freight hub.
  
  The two councillors appointed to the airport board are set to receive at least $4,000 annually, plus $200 per diem, which means the total could hit $6,400 apiece if the board meets monthly.
  
  That money — at least $8,000 and potentially $12,800 — will be pooled with other committee stipends and divvied up among all 10 councillors.
  
  For serving as airport board chair, Francis is in line to receive $6,500 annually plus meeting honorariums."

I do not understand this comment by Eddie

• "Francis declined to discuss specific numbers until the report goes to council Aug. 24."

Don's story said

• "A host of people who aren’t on the board of YQG — the corporate entity that controls the publicly-owned Windsor Airport — were in attendance.
  
  They included councillors Alan Halberstadt, Fulvio Valentinis and Caroline Postma along with Norma Coleman, Francis's chief of staff.
  
  Councillors Drew Dilkens and Ken Lewenza Jr., who are council’s representatives on the board chaired by Francis, were also in attendance. A handful of others The Star reporter could not identify were also present."

Hmmmm 6 members of Council in attendance, a majority of Council members. Doesn't that make it a legal Council meeting? If so, they needed a MOTION to go in camera. Otherwise the public could not be excluded never mind all of the other Procedural By-law violations made.

Eddie is an expert in this area by the way. I note that Councillor Jones was not there. Was he invited or not? If not, wow, that sounds like that infamous meeting in 2003 that the Councillor objected to and in which Eddie was a participant and justified his role at a Council meeting.

This sounds like a job for the Meetings Investigator.

PS. Councillor Hatfield came too, probably after the reporter was kicked out. That made it SEVEN Members of Council, SIX Councillors (a majority) PLUS the Mayor!

New News

I am sure that you may have seen some of these stories but did you think of this angle to them?

RED BULL COMING BACK

Just a little something that I heard recently.

Expect an announcement around the time of the Windsor International Air Show in a couple of weeks.

Let's see, so far Spanky has contributed several millions to a foreign outfit to run a show in Windsor. How much has he given over to a local air show operator who keeps the money in the region?

SHOWBOATING

Ah, Councillor Brister. He really does need people around him to advise him when to keep his mouth shut.

Glad to see that he is playing his Councillor formerly Known as Councillor Budget role again. What a terrific time to talk about outsourcing, rub salt in the wounds of CUPE workers.

• "Brister argues that the threat of arbitration hanging over council's head prevented them from following through to extract greater cost savings from CUPE.
  
  Had that threat not been there, "I would have held out longer, no question."

No question because he was still getting his salary and benefits. I guess he forgot about the Protocol fiasco too and the fact that Council caved!

Arbitration may be a bogus issue if Junior is right:

• "I can assure you,” “I can assure you,” “I can assure you,” that there is no way the City can be successful in the future in taking away PRBs from those employees unless they negotiate them away and sell them."

Here is the important part for you to understand, dear reader. He may be running for Mayor if Eddie does not. His ego is that big. At the least, he is in Councillor competition with his Wardmate Councillor Dilkens depending on what happens with ward boundary review.

As I am sure that many know, Councillor Dilkens disappointed many in CUPE with his hard-line approach. Many had hoped that he would be the swing vote to end the ridiculous strike but he did not. So, I expect that he will be the target of CUPE forces during the next election

Well, Councillor Brister could NOT have that. He had to one-up his colleague. He had to do something so outrageous that CUPE would go after him even harder.

Congratulations Councillor. Your insensitivity has earned you top spot!

CVD IS MINI-GORD

No doubt about it now. Just like Gord, he provides the outlet for Councillor Brister to be a big man in town.

It's a shame though that the Councillor still does not have the guts to appear on Face-To-Face with John Fairley. He knows that John would turn him into a pretzel!

AND ONTARIO WANTS A P3 DRIC ROAD

More bad news for those advocating P3s as a solution to the border wars:

• "Illinois, Indiana Toll Roads May Join Macquarie Sales
  
  July 28 (Bloomberg) -- Macquarie Infrastructure Group, a publicly traded toll-road fund managed by Australia’s biggest investment bank, Macquarie Group Ltd., may sell the leases on the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road as it seeks to raise cash, investors said.
  
  A July 8 statement by the Sydney-based company says “it is reviewing options which seek to enhance security holder value.” prompted speculation that the Skyway, the first privatized U.S. toll road, and the Indiana highway, the largest such transaction, may be part of the company’s divestiture plans, said William Seddon, an analyst who helps manage $250 million with White Funds Management in Sydney.
  
  Governments’ rush to get cash for revenue-producing assets, epitomized by the Chicago and Indiana road deals, has ground to a halt amid the biggest economic slowdown since the Great Depression. Once-promising providers of lump sum payments from privatization of public thoroughfares deals can’t get funded amid tight credit, while some of the existing arrangements aren’t generating projected revenue as drivers cut back on trips.
  
  In September, Abertis Infraestructuras SA of Spain and Citigroup Inc. withdrew their $12.8 billion offer to operate the 537-mile (864 kilometer) Pennsylvania Turnpike."

Note that Macquarie has denied that it will be selling its US assets.

FEDS PAY ESTRIN FEES

Please don't tell me that the Governments are not working together to force Matty Moroun to sell out to them.

You would think that if there was this big war amongst the three levels as they have been pretending for years, the last thing the Senior Levels would do is to provide money to the City to pay those legal expenses.

That is what is happening with part of the obscene amout of money the Feds paid for Brighton Beach:

• "City council will use $6 million from the deal [Brighton beach $34M] to pay off its legal costs for Toronto lawyer David Estrin and others incurred during the last five years of the border road debate, with the rest of the money being directed toward the city's capital budget and replenishing municipal reserves, said Mayor Eddie Francis."

They make it so easy for the Bridge Company lawyers. One would almost think they they want the Bridge Company to sue so they can execute some brilliant plan.

SHOULD THEY BUILD THE ROAD AND BRIDGE

Delay after delay. Some still think Government should operate the busiest border crossing in North America.

To those people, keep your legs crossed too as you keep on waiting as Highway 401 travellers are. With the 2013 phony completion date of the DRIC bridge now a mere target date and with the project delayed for lack of traffic and P3 money, can you trust anything the Governments say?

• "Service centres
  
  Waiting for the 'near future'
  
  The provincial Ministry of Transportation is promising that those closed or demolished rest stops along highways 401 and 400 will eventually offer travellers full, "round the clock" service and be "family-friendly facilities."
  
  Nice to hear, but for now, we're keeping our fingers -- and our legs -- crossed.
  
  After two years of waiting for the ministry to pick a contractor and get things rolling, travellers are having trouble believing anything the ministry says. And with good reason"

Leweneza's Strike Confession: It Was Not CUPE's Fault

I hope that Junior is furious this morning. He unburdened his soul at Council last night, or, if you are cynical, tried to salvage his sinking political career but was ignored.

Of course he would be. He attacked how the strike was handled by the man in charge. He let us in on the fact that there was no hope of there being a negotiated settlement unless CUPE was crushed.

There were reasonable alternatives that could have been pursued. In fact, he claimed that there was a better offer for taxpayers introduced in the 4th week of the strike that CUPE would have been hard-pressed not to accept but it seems it was never offered to CUPE.

There was ample time for a resolution to be reached without a strike but there was no desire to do so on the City's side.

What a crappy newspaper the Star is.

Oh I forgot. The Star is merely "the messenger" in Marty Beneteau's words.

I am so happy that I cancelled my subscription. I hope that after this BLOG, dear reader, you might want to consider if you should continue to subscribe to it if you have not already stopped receiving it. It is the only way to let the Star, its Senior management and, more importantly, its advertisers know that the newspaper has failed this Community!

What am I so upset about now: the coverage of the PRBs for Councillors story:

• "Councillors move to abolish post-retirement benefits"

I read what Councillor Grandstander said:

• "It’s an issue of fairness. I feel we have no option,” said Coun. Percy Hatfield, who had earlier advised council he would bring forward the motion this week."

But I did not read a word about what Councillor Lewenza said other than

• "Lewenza used debate on the motion to give a long and pained speech on council’s handling of the strike and to defend his actions during the closed-door council sessions dealing with the strike."

Along with Councillor Mom's remarks re non-negotiation for 7 weeks, and isn't it interesting that the Councillor has not Blogged anything more for over a month, and what Junior said, we are learning a whole new aspect as to why this strike happened in the first place and why it took so long to settle.

It is now very clear to me at least that Eddie's Protocol fiasco shortened the Windsor strike by many weeks and probably caused David Miller to settle in Toronto long before he intended to do so.

Junior's comments should have been reported by the Star extensively. However, it did not do so. Better no one should know what Junior says.

Oh they might cover his Ward meetings if he ever has them but by then who will care what Junior says about the strike.

Fortunately, Chris Schnurr has software that allows Junior's remarks to be BLOGGED (see video above). Thank goodness that Windsorites have an alternative media where they can get information.

What Junior says is an absolute indictment of the handling of the strike by the Mayor and Council, including Junior. I know that only the surface has been scratched so far. A skilled cross-examiner should be able to destroy the City's position in any OLRB and other litigation just based on what Junior and Councillor Mom have said publicly so far alone.

As for Junior, how convenient is all I can say. I have some respect for him for at least opening his mouth. However, where was he telling us all of this information during the strike? Why was he so silent? Why did he vote as he did? Why did it take so long before he had his "rift" with the Mayor? Why did he not step up and perform his Municipal Act duties if the Community was in pain and being divided when there were reasonable alternatives? Why didn't he lead his colleagues and take over the handling of the file even after the near-riot and the grossly unfair attack on his Wardmate, Councillor Marra, in the Protocol?

I was interested to note that Junior did not refer to how the Library handled its PRB matter with CUPE that did not result in a strike! I also noted that the Mayor let him go on, off topic, for so long without one single "clarification." I cannot think of another precedent like that except when Dan Stamper or his lawyer, Paula Lombardi, is in Eddie's face!

Here are excerpts from Junior's remarks taken from the video above. Given the settlement, there is no doubt that CUPE won big time in the face of a multi-million dollar campaign to destroy them! Based on what Junior said, CUPE has no choice but to continue forward strongly on behalf of its members in their action against the City.

1.  Wants blue ribbon committee to deal with Councillor salary issues such as PRBs as in the past. Puts things out of whack otherwise [NOTE but why not something similar for employees when dealing with a major issue like PRBs. See comments later]
   


2.  PRBs taken away from only 30% of the work force after the 101 day strike
   


3.  Other workers—police, fire, ONA—will have to go through arbitration and NO arbitrator will take away their PRBs based on CUPE 82 & 543 workers but will look at comparable police and firefighters in other cities. Lewenza put his career on the line over this
   


4.  “I can assure you,” “I can assure you,” “I can assure you,” that there is no way the City can be successful in the future in taking away PRBs from those employees unless they negotiate them away and sell them
   


5.  Lewenza now explains that CUPE got those benefits in lieu of wages
   


6.  City money offered over the 4 year term of the collective agreement cost more than PRBs in its entirety
   


7.  He predicted 4 month strike with enormous consequences to the community ie their 1,800 jobs and 3 or 4 spin-off jobs per job.
   


8.  Having 10,000 people not contributing a paycheck has a tremendous impact to this Community
   


9.  Again confirms that there is no savings to Windsor for 30 years
   


10.  Solution was “phasing it in”
    


11.  Treasurer said if CUPE or the City took only 1 % of what a wage increase looked like and applied it to a PRB fund, no contribution was necessary until 2018.
    


12.  Could have been done with less cost and pain to everyone if there had been a more open-minded approach to finding a long-term solution
    


13.  New employees do not think about PRBs but at the end of the day, they are glad to have them
    


14.  1% contribution by the City or CUPE equals $5 per household with no solution needed until 2018.
    


15.  CUPE offered to keep the status quo collective agreement but keep PRBs. In 4th week, Hatfield offered a Motion for 2% increase in the first year , 2% in the second year and CUPE walks away from PRBs or maintain PRBs in a 2 year agreement but get nothing else.
    


16.  If you analyze the cost, that was the best deal for taxpayers had Council at least approached CUPE with that compromise and CUPE accepted it. Should have at least challenged CUPE, called their bluff, to avoid a whole lot of pain
    


17.  To the public, we need to ask why all people are not entitled to PRBs for life as in other countries
    


18.  There were other alternatives
    


19.  Look at what happened 2 years ago when this issue first started so Council should have had a good idea that this would create a long strike.
    


20.  Managers wanted to form a committee to sit down with Administration and Council to look at alternatives. Lewenza said to an Administrator that they should do it since there were alternatives so both sides could achieve what they were looking for
    


21.  The next day there was an Administrative Recommendation for the City to take away PRBs from managers
    


22.  The managers, after 150 years, sought to unionize because of PRBs.
    


23.  The City has spent $3-400,000 in legal costs over this particular issue so far re the managers.
    


24.  WHEN YOU TAKE ON AN ISSUE OF THIS PARTICULAR MAGNITUDE, DID WE EXHAUST EVERY POSSIBLE MECHANISM TO TRY TO PROVIDE A SOLUTION ON BEHALF OF TAXPAYERS, THE CITIZENS AND ALSO OUR EMPLOYEES?
    


25.  Pain and division was felt in this community that was absolutely not needed
    


26.  Lewenza was not just pro-union. He represented taxpayer interests and is willing to share discussions he had with the CUPE Presidents during the strike to try to find a settlement in the interests of taxpayers and CUPE
    


27.  Challenges his Council colleagues or anyone in the community that this was not his intention
    


28.  Some of the Star Editorials are blatantly, blatantly wrong. Now wants to challenge Vander Doelen since any coward can debate an empty chair [Did NOT mention Brister]