Canada will not share bridge tolls with US until debt repaid, Carney says

OTTAWA: Canada will not share with the United States toll revenues from a new $4.7 billion bridge connecting Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, ‌until Canada recoups its initial investment, Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Thursday.

The delayed opening of the Gordie Howe bridge, paid for by Canada, has increased tensions and incurred economic costs for both the United States and Canada at a time the two neighbours are trying to work out an updated trade agreement. Some U.S. politicians are also angry about ​how Canada is handling ongoing wildfires.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he had secured “a much better deal” for the U.S. to allow ​the bridge’s opening, set for July 27. Political opponents criticized Carney for caving to the U.S. after American officials ⁠said they “went from getting no revenue” to getting significant revenue.

But at a press briefing on Thursday, Carney said the underlying agreement with Michigan on the ​Gordie Howe bridge remained unchanged from 2012, when Canada agreed to front the cost of the bridge. According to that deal, Canada was entitled to collect ​all toll profits until it recovered the costs of its bridge investment.

“Any sharing of the toll revenue won’t happen until all of the debt is repaid,” said Carney. He added that Canada would split net revenues with the U.S. during the first 15 years after operational costs, including maintenance and snow removal.

“We expect that after those costs, for ​the first few years, net revenue will be modest,” he said. “When the splitting begins, all of the portions that go to the U.S. government will ​be reinvested in economic development.”

The details of the agreement between Canada and the U.S. have not been publicly released. Two sources told Reuters a deal had been reached ‌last week ⁠and that the U.S. would get 50% of toll revenue profits and that it would be able to veto any toll hike 10% higher than current tolls.

Michigan Republicans also criticized Carney this week for Canada’s management of wildfires, as smoke from blazes in northern Ontario reached swathes of the United States from the Midwest to the Northeast.

State Representatives Jack Bergman, John James, Lisa McClain, and John Moolenaar accused the prime minister of failing to address “chronic under-investment in forest ​thinning, fuel reduction, and prescribed burns, along ​with inadequate enforcement against arson.”

Asked ⁠to respond, Carney said the United States could do more to combat climate change that is leading to warmer temperatures and more extreme temperatures around the world.

“We need a contribution from the Americans in the fight against climate change … Climate ​change is the responsibility of everyone, really, everyone, including the United States,” he said.

BRIDGE DEAL COULD BE SEEN ​AS A WIN ⁠FOR CANADA

Fen Hampson, a professor of international affairs at Carleton University, said the bridge deal was a victory for Canada.

“If you do the math on when Canada will be splitting the revenues, there won’t be very much left to split.” He said it was to Carney’s advantage that Americans believed they had forced a Canadian concession.

“It’s ⁠better to ​let Trump think he’s gotten a win, otherwise he can be very vindictive.”

Opposition Conservative Member of ​Parliament Shuvaloy Majumdar called it a “terrible deal” for Canada in a letter sent to the government last week.

“Canadians deserve the full agreement, a complete accounting of its costs and clear answers ​about what was given away,” Majumdar wrote.