view . summer 2008
13
401. Also, the border issue is now on the
international political radar; Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, at a spring summit with
President George W. Bush and Mexican
President Felipe Calderon, said the three
leaders are putting a “special emphasis”
on the crossing.
Improving and expanding trade, Harper
said, is the “key to greater prosperity for
our peoples.” The prime minister added,
however, that security since Sept. 11, 2001,
has created a considerable thickening of
the world’s longest least-defended border.
Both the Canadian and U.S. chambers
of commerce have joined 40 other
organizations in recommending short-term
measures to promote cross-border traffic.
In 2003, the C.D. Howe Institute said
that the region is especially at risk because
of security-related disruptions. Of 30
top export industries, it rated automotive
assembly and parts manufacturing among
the five most vulnerable.
A 2004 study commissioned by the
Border Transportation Partnership, which
involves both federal governments, as well
as those of Ontario and Michigan, said that
150,000 jobs and more than $13 billion
in annual production may be lost if there
are no border crossing improvements
in the area by 2030. The challenges are
formidable, Anderson said, though he is
prepared to meet them.
“I don’t think there’s any choice,” he
said, adding that manufacturers in Canada
and the U.S. that rely on exports face
the tallest hurdles. In fact, just-in-time
deliveries have become unreliable and
more companies are closing down their
shops across the border and manufacturing
at home.
At the same time, some voters in
the U.S. oppose the whole notion of free
trade arrangements, he says, a sentiment
that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton
seemed to play to in the Democratic Party
presidential nomination campaign by
pledging to re-open NAFTA. While security
is perhaps the main “complicating factor”
to the efficient movement of goods across
the border, Anderson says the new institute
will look at a wide variety of issues: politics
at all governmental levels, as well as the
logistical, engineering and environmental
challenges of border transportation.
In fact, it is the complexity of the
border file that attracted him to the job in
Windsor, Anderson says. “To me that’s very
exciting; I’m essentially a social scientist
who works in the sphere of transportation,
so these political issues and economic
issues in particular are things that I have
experience with and am very interested in
studying further.” He says that UWindsor’s
multidisciplinary research and high level of
interaction among departments is one of its
great strengths and he returns to that theme
repeatedly. Examples of cross-departmental
synergy range from the Canadian-American
< Border delays cost the province $5.25 billion annually.
UPDATE: NEW BRIDGE ANNOUNCED
On June 18, 2008, the federal government announced plans to spend $1 billion on a new
international crossing just a few miles west of the Ambassador Bridge. Calling it the country’s
“No. 1 priority” for transportation infrastructure,” government officials said construction would likely
begin in late 2009 with a target completion date of 2013.
Following nearly six years of meetings, debate and consultation, the final recommendation of the
binational Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) team is for the new bridge to be located in
west Windsor.
“For the economies of both Canada and the U.S., this certainly is important to get this up and
running,” Federal Transportation Minister Lawrence Cannon said. “It’s extremely significant for the
economies of the two countries.”
The cost for the bridge will be about $800 million, with another $200 million spent on the Canadian
plaza. The length of the crossing from end-to-end is expected to be around 2.5 kilometres, with the
span over the Detroit River to be about 850 metres in length. It has not yet been determined whether
the new bridge will be cable-stay or a suspension crossing.
“The announcement of the plaza and bridge locations will not surprise many people. That’s a good
thing,” says William Anderson, head of the University of Windsor’s new Cross-Border Transportation
Institute. “Those locations enjoy broad support from a range of stakeholders.”
“But the announcement itself, especially with the the strong sense of commitment conveyed by the
federal Minister, is very important. The construction project will be a shot in the arm for the local
economy. More importantly, the announcement should reduce the current high level of uncertainty
over whether governments on both sides will act quickly to improve cross-border transportation. Less
uncertainty makes it easier for firms serving the North American and global markets to make long-
term plans for doing business in Ontario – not just in manufacturing, but also in agriculture, tourism,
business services and other sectors.”
