Prime Minister Mark Carney has acknowledged that he “should have been clearer” in his description of the new deal to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge, after the text of the agreement appeared to contradict his original explanation. The prime minister, speaking at a news conference, said he “imperfectly” described the deal and that the new revenue-splitting arrangement with the United States doesn’t account for debt repayment. “Could I have explained it better on a Sunday morning at Stampede, with a cowboy hat on? Yes, I could have explained it better,” Carney said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy began when Carney, speaking at the Calgary Stampede shortly after the deal was struck but before the text was made public, told CTV that bridge toll revenue would only be split with the U.S. after accounting for operating costs, including repaying the debt. However, the text of the agreement, which was only made public late Tuesday, made no reference to Canada’s debt, contradicting the prime minister’s original comments. The discrepancy raised questions from the Opposition Conservatives, who called for the deal to be released publicly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The deal, described as a “proposed agreement in principle,” says that for the first 15 years, Canada will split half of the bridge’s net revenue with an economic development fund “established and solely controlled” by the U.S. government. The new deal was reached even though Canada and Michigan struck an initial agreement to build the bridge in 2012. Under that original agreement, Canada fronted the money for the construction of the bridge, which came in at $6.4 billion, and Canada was set to collect the tolls until the cost was repaid, after which the revenues would be split with Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Carney said that his initial comments about debt repayment being included in the deal were meant to be a reference to the original agreement with Michigan, even though he referenced the 15-year timeline of the U.S. deal and the repayment of the debt under the Michigan agreement is estimated to take 50 years. “There is no splitting of tolls under that [Michigan] agreement which I was referring to, perhaps imperfectly,” the prime minister said. Carney added that the cost of the new deal is “less than five per cent in present value of the overall cost of developing the bridge”. With a $6.4-billion price tag, that means the cost would be a maximum of $320 million over 15 years, or about $21 million per year, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conservative MP Kelly McCauley, chair of the government operations committee, said in a social media post that he is convening a meeting to launch an “urgent investigation into the details of the Gordie Howe bridge deal and the misinformation provided to Canadians about it”. Conservative House leader Andrew Scheer said the prime minister should be “embarrassed” by the deal with the U.S.. The controversy has created political headaches for the prime minister, who has faced questions about the transparency of the deal and the accuracy of his public statements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario, with Detroit, Michigan, has been a long-awaited infrastructure project. The bridge was originally announced years ago but faced numerous delays. The deal to open the bridge has been a source of political tension, with the opposition accusing the government of making concessions to the United States that are not in Canada’s best interests. The prime minister has defended the deal as being in Canada’s interest, but the controversy over his comments has provided ammunition for his political opponents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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