The Conservative Party is exploring ways to use Parliament to compel the federal government to release the details of its agreement with the United States on the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
Conservative MP Shuv Majumdar said the federal government has not been transparent about the details of the deal, so the Tories are “looking at finding ways in which Parliament can be used to encourage this kind of disclosure.”
Majumdar told The Canadian Press the Tories may seek to have the House of Commons call witnesses to testify and provide documents shedding light on the deal, accusing the government of “flip-flopping between net revenue and net profit and deal-sharing.”
After the United States delayed the opening of the Gordie Howe bridge last month following U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of the original 2012 deal, the two countries reached a new agreement on July 10 to open the bridge at the end of the month.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has said that his country is revisiting the deal because the project has gone over budget and faced delays, altering the business model under which it was originally agreed upon.
Under the original agreement, all the toll revenue for 36 years was to go to the Canadian government because Ottawa agreed to finance the full $6.4 billion construction cost. Once Canada recovered those costs, toll revenues would be split with the state of Michigan.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on July 16 that under the new agreement, Canada will split “net revenues ... after operational costs” with the United States for 15 years, with expenses including staffing, maintenance, and snow removal. He said the sharing of toll revenue will not happen until the debt to Canada is repaid.
Bloomberg said it reviewed a copy of the agreement and it contains no provisions about reimbursing Canada for the cost of the bridge.
Majumdar said the government should release the full agreement instead of leaving Canadians to rely on anonymous news reports. The Tory MP said it is not clear whether Canada has surrendered the ability to set competitive tolls, ceded control over territory near the bridge, or has agreed to side deals that include trade concessions.
“The opposition has sympathy for the government dealing with a tough and unpredictable negotiator in Washington,” he said. “Where we don’t have sympathy is how the government’s positioned itself over the last 15 months.”
The Liberal government has a majority on all Parliamentary committees, which could complicate Conservative efforts to convince them to study the issue of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Conservative MP Shuv Majumdar said the federal government has not been transparent about the details of the deal, so the Tories are “looking at finding ways in which Parliament can be used to encourage this kind of disclosure.”
Majumdar told The Canadian Press the Tories may seek to have the House of Commons call witnesses to testify and provide documents shedding light on the deal, accusing the government of “flip-flopping between net revenue and net profit and deal-sharing.”
After the United States delayed the opening of the Gordie Howe bridge last month following U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of the original 2012 deal, the two countries reached a new agreement on July 10 to open the bridge at the end of the month.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra has said that his country is revisiting the deal because the project has gone over budget and faced delays, altering the business model under which it was originally agreed upon.
Under the original agreement, all the toll revenue for 36 years was to go to the Canadian government because Ottawa agreed to finance the full $6.4 billion construction cost. Once Canada recovered those costs, toll revenues would be split with the state of Michigan.
Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters on July 16 that under the new agreement, Canada will split “net revenues ... after operational costs” with the United States for 15 years, with expenses including staffing, maintenance, and snow removal. He said the sharing of toll revenue will not happen until the debt to Canada is repaid.
Bloomberg said it reviewed a copy of the agreement and it contains no provisions about reimbursing Canada for the cost of the bridge.
Majumdar said the government should release the full agreement instead of leaving Canadians to rely on anonymous news reports. The Tory MP said it is not clear whether Canada has surrendered the ability to set competitive tolls, ceded control over territory near the bridge, or has agreed to side deals that include trade concessions.
“The opposition has sympathy for the government dealing with a tough and unpredictable negotiator in Washington,” he said. “Where we don’t have sympathy is how the government’s positioned itself over the last 15 months.”
The Liberal government has a majority on all Parliamentary committees, which could complicate Conservative efforts to convince them to study the issue of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
