As Canada forges ahead on bridge project, trade tensions near a boil

Crain's Detroit Business ^ | July 8, 2018 | Chad Livengood

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

WINDSOR, Ontario — The Canadian government is forging ahead with construction of a new Detroit River bridge designed to enhance trade as economic relations between the longtime trading partners grow strained — and the crossing could become a bargaining chip.

Major construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge is expected to begin this fall once a contract is signed with Bridging North America, the consortium of infrastructure companies chosen last week by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to build the bridge.

The long-awaited move toward an official groundbreaking later this month comes as President Donald Trump threatens a tariff on Canadian-assembled vehicles — which he describes as "the big one" — following Canada's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods responding to the 25 percent duty Trump imposed on foreign steel and aluminum.

Adding to the international tensions is the billionaire Moroun family, owners of the Ambassador Bridge and longtime foes of the Canadian government who are egging on a nationalistic president to pull the plug on a permit for the bridge, which Canada sees as a top national priority for the future of its auto industry.

The Morouns' Detroit International Bridge Co. has been airing Fox News television ads in just the Washington, D.C., market, seemingly aimed at an audience of one — the celebrity-billionaire-turned-president. The commercials ask him to withdraw the U.S. permit needed to build the Gordie Howe bridge.

They're also lobbying for Trump to get Canada to drop its stipulation that the Morouns tear down the Ambassador Bridge if they build a replacement span. That matter could be injected into renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

[free_life]

There was, freedominion.ca modeled after freerepublic...it was sued and found libel by a liberal judge and had to shut down as it had so many leftist enemies who were filing suits the couple could not keep on risking everything to go on.

If I remember correctly the repeated court suits and inHuman Wrongs Tribunals cost them $80k in fines and large legal fees on top of $80k.

It was decided in Canada that you are responsible for something someone else posts on your forum. And even posting a link to something that was slanderous or deemed “hate” made the owners libel. They had even moved their servers to Panama a few years before, but the judge saw herself as having global authority.

The former owners and many members are still here.

[Vigilanteman]

Canada HAD a Free Republic called Free Dominion. The jack-booted government shut it down. I kid you not. You can look it up.