BREAKING: Released Bridge Agreement Proves Mark Carney & Liberals Outright Lied To Canadians

[00:00:00]It's not splitting the tolls of the bridge.

[00:00:03]Um it is an agreement for 15 years uh to split uh net revenues. Splitting of tolls, any sharing of the toll revenue won't happen until all of the debt all of the debt is repaid.

[00:00:17]>> Even paying down the bridge debt itself.

[00:00:19]All of that comes off first.

[00:00:21]>> Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to present to you the Gordie Howe side agreement.

[00:00:31]>> [music] >> When the truth offends, we lie and lie and lie until we can no longer remember if it is even there.

[00:00:43]But it is still there.

[00:00:45]Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth and sooner or later that debt must be repaid.

[00:00:51]That quote comes from the phenomenal television series Chernobyl and it anchors a core philosophy that Tany and I stand by on the show. Today, that philosophy has been vindicated.

[00:01:02]Prime Minister Mark Carney's lies about the Gordie Howe bridge have indebted him to Canadians on what the truth actually is and today that debt has come due.

[00:01:13]And it's time for Mark Carney to pay up.

[00:01:16]Let's take a look.

[00:01:20]So, just to demonstrate that we are trying to approach this as objectively as possible, this is an article that Reuters published on July 16th. Canada will not share bridge tolls with US until debt repaid, Carney says. We know this and this is what Reuters reported.

[00:01:36]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 neighbors are trying to work out an updated trade agreement. Some US politicians are also angry about how Canada is handling ongoing wildfires.

[00:02:05]Okay.

[00:02:06]That That is what Reuters reported.

[00:02:10]Just to remind everybody, this is what Mark Carney said on July 16th.

[00:02:15]>> Hello, sir. Nathaniel Dove from Global News. Prime Minister, we're looking for more information on the deal to open the Gordie Howe Bridge. Canada spent $6.4 billion to to build it. Is the Canadian debt repayment on that on the bridge included as an expenses before profits are split with the US?

[00:02:32]>> Uh well, let me say first of all that uh we're very pleased that uh the prospect of the bridge uh reopening later this month or opening uh later this month.

[00:02:42]This is good for Canada, good for the United States uh both in the short term and the long term. Um what we have with the agreement with the US um is as follows. Uh and let me start with what it isn't. Um it's not splitting the tolls of the bridge.

[00:02:58]Um it is an agreement for 15 years uh to split uh net revenues. Splitting of tolls, any sharing of the toll revenue won't happen until all of the debt all of the debt is repaid.

[00:03:13]We will split net revenues over the course of the first 15 years. And those net revenues are after operational costs. So, it's manning the toll booths, it's uh it's maintenance, it's uh snow removal, uh a series of other operational costs. Um We expect that after those costs for the first few years, net revenues will be modest. In fact, we expect them to be negative uh you know, as traffic ramps up. Uh so, negative to modest in the first few years. And what's been designed is an alignment of incentives. So, that when the splitting begins, all of the portions that go to the US government will be reinvested in economic development, regional economic development in the area, the US side of the area, obviously which is is pro-cyclical. It it reinforces, you know, more traffic, more traffic, higher revenues, more investment, and that's the way it moves forward.

[00:04:12]>> So, he's quite clear saying that this isn't going to happen until all the debt is repaid.

[00:04:22]Right? Well, the Conservatives have obviously been reacting to reporting out there. They've been reacting to what they've been hearing, and they've been hearing something very different. And the Liberal House Whip, and that's Mark Gerretsen.

[00:04:36]I know. Mark Gerretsen, he's been making these flippant videos trying to tell everybody how wrong the Conservatives are.

[00:04:45]This is what Mark Gerretsen had to say in reaction to a Pierre Poilievre video trying to explain what was going on with the bridge.

[00:04:53]>> This isn't just spin. It's a misleading use of language, and Pierre Poilievre knows exactly what he's doing here.

[00:04:59]Imagine you spent a million dollars building a rental property, and then your neighbor said he wanted to collect half the rent. You paid 100% of the cost, and you get only 50% of the revenue? What a terrible deal. Well, that's exactly the deal that Mark Carney just brought home on the Gordie Howe International Bridge. And Carney just agreed to give half the tolls to a Michigan economic development body that did not pay a dime to build the thing.

[00:05:25]>> Poilievre says Canada gave away half the toll revenue on the new Gordie Howe Bridge. But that's flat out wrong.

[00:05:31]Here's the actual situation. Canada paid for the bridge up front, that part is true. And originally, Canada was going to collect tolls to recover that cost over time. But the new agreement, it doesn't split revenue, it splits profits. There's a massive difference there. Revenue is every dollar that comes in, Profit is what's left over after the expenses. Expenses like operations, maintenance, staffing, even paying down the bridge debt itself. All of that comes off first.

[00:05:57]So, this is what Mark Garnett said to us.

[00:06:00]Okay.

[00:06:02]That comes off first.

[00:06:04]Right?

[00:06:06]Wrong.

[00:06:08]Ladies and gentlemen, I am very proud to present to you the Gordie Howe side agreement.

[00:06:17]Let's take a look.

[00:06:20]Ladies and gentlemen, this comes from the actual bridge website itself. So, here is the agreement in principle.

[00:06:29]Number one, economic participation.

[00:06:31]Canada will provide annual economic participation payments outside the 2012 Canada-Michigan Crossing Agreement equal to 50% 50% of net bridge and crossing-related revenues for the first 15 fiscal years of bridge operations. Net bridge and crossing-related revenues is all revenues collected with respect to the bridge less all incurred operating costs of the bridge.

[00:06:59]Such payment shall be made to a United States-Canada Economic Development Fund established and solely controlled by the government of the United States.

[00:07:11]Eligible fund commitments. Canada and the United States will reasonably agree on the objects of the United States- Canada Economic Development Fund, which will be for the benefit of the United States and trade between Canada and the United States.

[00:07:27]So, just so everybody understands, debt debt payments are not included in operational or maintenance costs.

[00:07:40]Because you don't pay debt debt to maintain the bridge and you don't pay debt to operate the bridge.

[00:07:48]Debt is not included in this. It was very specific.

[00:07:52]So, this is coming from the Gordie Howe Bridge website itself.

[00:07:58]And this is directly directly refuting what Mark Carney said.

[00:08:04]This is exactly what Bloomberg reported a couple days ago and we covered that yesterday.

[00:08:10]So, this shows that Mark Carney has been flat out lying to Canadians.

[00:08:17]Now, the other bone of contention was that the United States would have a veto on tolls.

[00:08:24]What does that say?

[00:08:25]Toll governance, number three.

[00:08:27]Canada will direct the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority to inform the government of the United States regarding proposed toll rate adjustments during the first 15 years of bridge operations and to seek the United States consent where A, a proposed toll rate increase exceeds 10% within any fiscal year and would result in toll rates that are above the average of comparable regional crossings or a proposed toll rate reduction would result in toll rates falling below the average of comparable regional crossings, the government of the United States must provide its consent or notice of withholding such consent within 30 days of notification from the WDBA.

[00:09:10]Failing which consent shall be deemed to have been provided. What does that mean?

[00:09:16]In short, if Canada wants to increase tolls or decrease tolls by around 10%, then it has to seek permission from the United States.

[00:09:26]Meaning the United States has a veto over whether Canada increases or decreases the tolls by 10% of its own bridge that Canada fully paid for and financed.

[00:09:41]This is This is a pretty big veto that you're actually handing over to another country where they didn't pay a dime for this bridge. They've done nothing to finance this bridge.

[00:09:53]This is what Mark Carney gave up.

[00:09:56]Next, crossing agreement. Nothing in this agreement in principle shall be interpreted as amending, modifying, or superseding the 2012 Canada-Michigan Crossing Agreement or the ownership, governance, and financial framework established thereunder.

[00:10:08]Implementation, officials will develop and finalize the legal and financial and administrative arrangements necessary to implement this agreement in principle as expeditiously as possible.

[00:10:21]Bridge opening, upon confirmation of this agreement in principle, the parties will direct their respective officials, agencies, and authorities to undertake all actions necessary to open the Gordie Howe International Bridge to commercial and passenger traffic on or before the 27th of July, 2026. The parties, along with the state of Michigan, shall also work together to hold a ceremony opening event no later than the 3rd of August, 2026. So, ladies and gentlemen, um so, what that means is the crossing agreement that governs, you know, the the daily crossing of the actual bridge, financing of the bridge, all of that All of that remains unchanged, and that's not surprising.

[00:10:59]And it also talks about the fact that the bridge will be open on July 27th.

[00:11:05]So, we already knew that was the case, so that's going to happen on Monday, and that they're going to hold a ceremonial opening of the bridge. Now, here's the Here's the onion.

[00:11:14]So, we heard yesterday that this was actually going to happen on this Friday.

[00:11:20]This week.

[00:11:22]So, that would have been What's that?

[00:11:25]24th, July 24th. And there was going to be a very strict um guest list in who was allowed on the bridge and all of this stuff.

[00:11:36]Well, today, as of today, we've heard that Canada is actually canceling that ceremony.

[00:11:43]Because they said it would be inappropriate to to hold this after Donald Trump and and the Americans have levied more tariffs on to Canada.

[00:11:53]So, this is again Canada violating another agreement. [laughter] So, they're violating this agreement where where they're actually, you know, uh having to have a joint ceremony on opening the bridge. Now, says that uh they don't have to hold it until August, but isn't that interesting?

[00:12:13]It's around the same time that Trump said that he's going to put in these tariffs.

[00:12:17]A little odd, don't you think?

[00:12:19]Um but this is this is what Carney has done. So, when you have Mark Carney out there trying to tell everybody, "Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No, I'm the economist.

[00:12:31]I'm the banker. I understand agreements.

[00:12:33]I understand negotiating. I understand financial terms and what they mean." And he says that all the debt must be repaid before the tolls are split.

[00:12:44]But the agreement that's posted on the bridge's own website says the contrary.

[00:12:50]And it validates what people have been reporting over the last couple of days and it validates what the conservatives have been saying since since this agreement was made.

[00:13:00]This is crazy.

[00:13:03]It's crazy that he's being fact-checked in real time.

[00:13:06]So, let's just all give a big thank you to American media who first broke this story about what the agreement actually was.

[00:13:13]Cuz the conservatives were in the process of moving this to Parliament to get the agreement to be able to show everybody. And Mark Carney didn't want to provide it to anybody.

[00:13:22]It's being provided by the bridge itself.

[00:13:25]So, it wasn't the Liberals putting this out.

[00:13:28]So much for transparency, right?

[00:13:32]Right.

[00:13:33]So, we go back to Mark Gerretsen. Now, Mark Gerretsen has some sage advice that I think everybody should listen to.

[00:13:42]I'm not joking. You should listen to this.

[00:13:45]>> It wasn't a small wording issue. That's a distorted deception, which in my opinion, couldn't have been anything other than deliberate. So, before you decide if this is a terrible deal, ask yourself, are you reacting to the facts or how they were framed to mislead you?

[00:14:00]>> I can't believe I'm saying this, but Mark Gerretsen, you're absolutely right.