Bridge Stalled, Robots Beered, and a Rock Blown Up

Well, it's not just this podcast that's a little behind schedule.

The Gordie Howe Bridge, the new bridge between Detroit and, uh, Windsor, Ontario, it's late.

Bridge was not opened when it was announced a couple of weeks ago by mutual agreement of the Canadian government and the US government.

That's the American ambassador to Canada, uh, sitting down and talking with Global News in Canada.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says the delay of opening the now-finished bridge comes at the, quote, "request of the United States," close quote.

Global News has a theory why.

For years, the owners of the Ambassador Bridge have lobbied to make sure the new Gordie Howe Bridge won't open.

So that's factually true.

It goes back about 20 years ago, when both, uh, Canada and the US were playing with the idea of building a newer bridge, because the old Ambassador Bridge, one family owns it.

And so they have a monopoly on all the, uh...

Think about all the economic commerce with the auto industry and everything that goes back and forth between Windsor and Detroit, and they're s- raking in all the sweet, sweet toll revenue from that.

So they didn't want this new government-owned bridge being built.

Mr. Matty Maroon.

This bridge is my bridge, and no one else's.

Back in 2012, this family, uh, spent a bunch of money on a ballot measure.

They were trying to stop the bridge in, uh, with, I think, Prop 6 in 2012.

He wants to change our constitution so he can keep the $100 million he makes on his bridge monopoly.

Audio there from an opposition camp- campaign ad in 2006.

That ballot measure failed, so then they, uh, started buying up vacant land near the project to try to make it, uh, difficult for MDOT, Michigan DOT, to buy it, so they'd have to use eminent domain.

So that was a bunch of lawsuits.

And so the bridge that was supposed to open on June 12th, the new fancy freeway-style government-owned bridge, it's delayed indefinitely.

Global's theory? The family that owned the old bridge are up to something again.

Including a million-dollar donation to a Donald Trump super PAC.

Which the ambassador denies.

Is the administration doing this because of the donations you've received from the Maroon family?