An Appeal to Patriotism in the Hopes of Blocking a Canadian Bridge to Detroit

Border controversies now have a northern front, too.

1 minute read

July 5, 2018, 6:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Detroit Bridge

Susan Zaide / Shutterstock

Todd Spangler reports on a new chapter in the battle by the Moroun family, "which owns and operates Detroit's Ambassador Bridge," to keep a rival bridge from being built to bridge Detroit to Canada.

The Morouns have spent years "arguing that a Canadian-built, Canadian-financed rival bridge makes no economic sense, violates the law and will unfairly hurt its business," according to Spangler.

Now the Morouns are pleading patriotism, and appealing to President Donald Trump with a new television commercial aired on Fox & Friends and was posted on Vimeo but has since been removed.

The advertisement comes against the backdrop of a trade spat between the Trump Administration and Canada as well as ongoing human rights concerns at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Trump Administration's trade policies have already been blamed for making infrastructure projects more expensive. Earlier in the Trump presidency, it seemed like the U.S.-Canada border would remain a great deal more permeable than the U.S.-Mexico border.

To follow up the news about the new commercial, John Gallagher writes a column criticizing the Moroun family.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 in The Detroit Free Press

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