Business group says ‘misinformation’ hurting new Detroit bridge

DETROIT — The president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce says some Michigan politicians and business owners are engaged in a “misinformation campaign” to stop a new international bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Ont.

In a Globe & Mail report, Perrin Beatty calls the new crossing “the single most important thing we can do to improve the functioning of the border” and says campaigns against the project are throwing up barriers to the deal.

Canada has offered to pay Michigan’s $550-million share of the project – which would later be repaid from toll revenue.

And while Michigan Governor Rick Snyder had committed to getting legislative approval for the new bridge, the project currently lacks sufficient political support among Michigan legislators, some of whom may well be influenced by a campaign to stop the bridge waged by the operators of the privately owned Ambassador Bridge. They’ve been using TV ads to raise questions in Michigan voters’ minds about the rationale for a government-backed second crossing.

Other tactics to stop the new bridge include delivering fake eviction notices to Detroit residents that erroneously suggested they would be displaced by the project.

Beatty points out that a new bridge would create jobs in Michigan which is still struggling to rebuild a weakened economy.

“If there’s ever an opportunity to get it done, it’s now,” he is quoted as saying in the Globe & Mail report. “[But] what you have is massive amounts of money being poured into a campaign to spread misinformation.”

Brad Williams of the Detroit Regional Chamber estimates bridge opponents have spent more than $1-million (U.S.) on campaigning against the second crossing.