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PP RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHON #0011/01 0101942
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 101942Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL TORONTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2306
INFO RUCNCAN/ALCAN COLLECTIVE
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TORONTO 000011 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/10/2018 
TAGS: ETRD PBTS PREL CA
SUBJECT: ONTARIO BORDER CROSSING UPDATE - WINDSOR CITY 
OFFICIALS SLOW PROGRESS 
 
REF: A. 07 TORONTO 424 
     ¶B. 07 TORONTO 256 
 
Classified By: Classified by Political Economic Consul Sherri Holliday- 
Sklar for reasons 1.4 (b), (d), and (g). 
 
¶1. (C/NF) Summary:  Ontario provincial officials have decided 
on the design for the Windsor access road linking the end of 
provincial highway 401 with the customs plaza for the new 
international bridge under consideration by the Detroit River 
International Crossing (DRIC) project.  The final provincial 
decision, which has not yet been made public, was made 
without discussion with Windsor city officials.  Transport 
Canada has agreed to pay for half of the access road (C$800 
million), a significant increase over their initial 
allocation of C$400 million.  But a proposed C$35 million 
plaza expansion project at the Windsor end of the 
Detroit-Canada Tunnel is currently being held up by the 
insistence of federal officials on increased funding from the 
City of Windsor.  The city, which has reportedly been 
spending its tunnel revenue without setting aside funding for 
future capital needs, says it does not have the money the 
federal government is asking for.  Windsor has alienated the 
provincial and federal transportation officials who are 
planning and will be constructing major border infrastructure 
projects within the city limits.  We do not expect Windsor to 
adopt more accommodating tactics, leaving city officials as a 
factor to be ignored or overcome as federal and provincial 
officials work to improve U.S.-Canada border infrastructure 
in southwestern Ontario.  End Summary. 
 
------------------- 
Windsor Access Road 
------------------- 
 
¶2. (C/NF) Ontario provincial officials have decided on the 
design for the Windsor access road linking the end of 
provincial highway 401 with the customs plaza for the new 
international bridge under consideration by the Detroit River 
International Crossing (DRIC) project.  On January 10 Fausto 
Natarelli, Director of the Windsor Border Initiative 
Implementation Group for the Ontario MoT, told Pol/Econ Chief 
the final decision to build the C$1.6 billion highway was 
made with input from key provincial Cabinet officials, 
including Windsor-area MPPs Duncan (Finance Minister) and 
Pupatello (Economic Development and Trade), but without the 
direct concurrence of Windsor municipal officials, who had 
proposed construction of an alternative "Green Link" (ref 
(A)).  Windsor city officials are publicly clamoring for 
information on the proposed access road, but Natarelli said 
provincial officials will not directly engage Mayor Eddie 
Francis or other city officials, who have a track record of 
not respecting confidential information and using the local 
press to try to ramp up the pressure on provincial 
politicians. 
 
¶3. (C/NF) Natarelli said the province is on track to produce 
the detailed engineering documents for the access road that 
will be needed for the planned April 2008 binational 
announcement of the preferred DRIC alternative.  Ontario has 
begun acquiring some of the 600 or so properties it will need 
to construct the access road.  MoT officials are currently 
negotiating to buy 170 properties, which they hope to acquire 
by the end of 2008.  Natarelli said the province will issue 
expropriation notices to other affected property owners who 
have not come forward by the time the Environment Ministry 
approves the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the access 
road project in the summer of 2009.  In a separate January 9 
meeting, Environment Minister John Gerretsen affirmed to the 
Consul General that the DRIC project is a high priority for 
his ministry and that Environment officials are prepared to 
expeditiously advance the provincial EA when they receive the 
formal application from MoT next fall. 
 
¶4. (C/NF) Natarelli said Transport Canada (TC) has agreed to 
pay for half of the access road (C$800 million), a 
significant increase over their initial allocation of C$400 
million.  TC officials have clearly said they will not pay 
"a loonie more," however, and will re-evaluate their 
financial commitment if the current road outline is 
significantly altered to include more of the aesthetic 
"Windsor beautification" features sought by city officials, 
whose "Green Link" proposal called for tunneling 3.8 km of 
the road. 
 
------------------------- 
The Detroit-Canada Tunnel 
 
TORONTO 00000011  002 OF 002 
 
 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C/NF) Natarelli said Transport Canada separately is 
currently holding up a C$35 million plaza expansion project 
at the Windsor end of the Detroit-Canada Tunnel.  Under the 
2003-04 plaza expansion agreement, MoT and TC agreed to spend 
up to C$10 million each for plaza construction while the city 
agreed to acquire the needed additional property and kick in 
some additional funding.  Natarelli said that TC officials, 
frustrated by the political grandstanding and spending 
choices (such as the C$500,000 to C$1.5 million spent 
retaining the services of New York-based traffic expert Sam 
Schwartz, ref (B)), are insisting the city kick in more 
funding for the project.  Provincial officials are arguing to 
their TC counterparts that a single year delay in the project 
will increase project costs by more than the amount of money 
TC is demanding Windsor kick in.  And right now Windsor 
claims it doesn,t have the money, Natarelli said. 
 
¶6. (C/NF) During a December meeting, Natarelli told Pol/Econ 
Chief that the City of Windsor has established a Municipal 
Corporation to "manage" the tunnel.   The city then 
"sold" its management interest in the tunnel to the 
Municipal Corporation, which has subsequently applied for a 
loan against future tunnel revenues from the provincial 
agency -- Infrastructure Ontario.  Natarelli explained that 
this shell game enabled the city to obtain the funds it 
needed to pay its share of the cost of renovating the tunnel 
ventilation system.  The city meanwhile has reportedly been 
spending its tunnel toll revenue without setting aside 
funding for future capital needs. 
 
¶7. (C/NF) Comment:  Ontario is committed to advancing 
construction of the Windsor access road linking the end of 
highway 401 with a new publicly-overseen international bridge 
between Detroit and Windsor.  The tactics of the Windsor 
municipal government headed by Mayor Francis has alienated 
the provincial and federal transportation officials who are 
planning and will be constructing major border infrastructure 
projects within the city limits.  Because of its linkage to 
the binational bridge, the access road project will not be 
derailed.  But the sorely-needed plaza expansion project in 
downtown Windsor, is taking a hit, to the detriment of 
Windsor residents, many of whom commute through the tunnel. 
Despite the obvious lesson for city officials, we do not 
expect Windsor to adopt more accommodating tactics, leaving 
city officials as a factor to be ignored or overcome as 
federal and provincial officials work to improve border 
crossings in southwestern Ontario.  End Comment. 
 
NAY