Windsor: Border, Highway, Security or Infrastructure?

The road to * * * * is paved with good intentions.

$129M going to Windsor border roads upgrades CP, Apr. 21, 05

WINDSOR, Ont. — The federal and Ontario governments will spend $129 million to upgrade and improve the roads that funnel traffic across Canada's busiest border crossing, deputy prime minister Anne McLellan said Thursday.

The plan to widen the Windsor-Detroit Gateway is part of an existing $300-million border improvement plan to be financed by the Canada-Ontario Border Infrastructure Fund, McLellan told a news conference alongside Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and federal Transport Minister Jean Lapierre.

[. . . . ] "Environmental assessments and detailed designs are essential steps to move forward with the implementation of these key transportation projects that will advance our prosperity and security objectives,"

[. . . . ]

Search: a task force called the Border Implementation Group

When I read the words "environmental assessments" and "security objectives", I start reading the fine print. I tend also to wonder who is doing the assessments and whether there are advertising contracts involved.

Roads are not security, they are infrastructure to speed traffic flow.

Any money for roads, bridges, tunnels and customs warehouses should be coming out of the Public Works budget, not be included in the security budget.



City to snub border plan -- Provincial, federal politicians to announce $21M for environmental assessments Dave Battagello, with files from Chris Thompson, Windsor Star, April 21, 05

Federal and provincial leaders were to announce in Windsor this morning $21 million in environmental assessments to fix the city's border woes.

Premier Dalton McGuinty, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, Ontario Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar and Canada's Minister of Transport Jean Lapierre were to appear at the Cleary International Centre at 10:30 a.m.

However, Mayor Eddie Francis said late Wednesday after a two-hour closed-door meeting at city hall, that he and city councillors would boycott today's announcement.

"We remain committed to the Sam Schwartz plan," said Francis."The City of Windsor will not be there." [. . . . ]

Search: Fearing that the expressway would be , Ojibway bypass , binational study

The Liberals were ready to announce this. Pre-election, that must have been an important announcement. Was it one of these "over five years" or "after" a certain amount of time that something would happen?

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