WINDSOR, Ont. (July 8, 2005) — One of Canada’s largest labour unions wants to scrap the never-ending bi-national process of selecting a new international crossing and get on with implementing the popular Schwartz Report.

The Canadian Autoworkers union is urging the federal and Ontario government to recognize that further inaction and delays in finalizing a new bridge between Windsor, Ont. and Detroit are jeopardizing the success of the economy and “threatening the future of thousands of Canadian jobs.”

“The bi-national commission struck to recommend the location of the next border crossing, can only lead to several more years of delay. Rather than narrow down the options, the bi-national commission wants to study more. This is the wrong direction,” the CAW said in a statement. “The CAW strongly recommends that all levels of government reject the bi-national report and adopt both short- and long-term solutions as outlined in the report prepared by Sam Schwartz, an internationally recognized traffic expert.”

Schwartz — a New York City traffic expert who’s blueprint for relieving commercial traffic through the gateway was endorsed unanimously by Windsor City Council earlier this year — wants to build a new “central industrial corridor ” bridge about 3 km southwest of the current Ambassador Bridge. Schwartz also proposed a bypass of the overwhelmed and truck-jammed Huron Church Rd. en route to the new river crossing via Talbot Rd. to Ojibway Parkway.

That plan has been endorsed by the Ontario government, Windsor, and industry groups, but is still awaiting approval by the federal government, which has indicated it does not want to commit to the bypass for fear of influencing the site of the new bridge.

That’s exactly the kind of dithering that has frustrated industry groups like the CAW and the Canadian Trucking Alliance. CTA CEO David Bradley recently expressed his displeasure with the lack of progress in completing the bi-national report. “It’s still frustrating that (more years) of study and consultation is required; it is a torturous road we are traveling,” he said earlier this year.

A quarter of Canada’s $1.3 billion daily trade with the U.S. crosses over the Ambassador Bridge alone, and more moves across the border at other crossings in the Windsor-Detroit area.

And no industry is more dependent on an effective border, or vulnerable to costly delays, than the auto industry, says the CAW. “Today’s manufacturing industries are increasingly dependent on the efficient supply of materials and parts as they are needed,” says the CAW.

There is no time for delay, or further diversions into the study of unnecessary options,” the CAW statement said.