Ambassador Bridge owner wants to mend relations with Canada in wake of blockade
CBC
Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun says that in the wake of last month's blockade of the vital trade artery it's more important than ever to extend an "olive branch" and heal old rifts in Windsor, a city that's wary of his business tactics after decades of dealing with his combative father, Manuel "Matty" Moroun.
The Michigan businessman, chairman of the Detroit International Bridge Company, which runs the Ambassador in tandem with the Canadian Transit Company, says he realizes there's bad blood between his company and people on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border who didn't like how his dad did business.
He says that after the protests against vaccine mandates that shut down the bridge for six days, delaying the transport of billions of dollars in goods, he wants to co-operate with Canadians to renovate the aging bridge and protect cross-border trade.
"Whatever olive branch I can extend, whatever hard work I can guarantee," said Moroun in an interview with CBC News.
Moroun is a third-generation businessman, son of a self-made billionaire who started off pumping gas and cleaning buses at his own father's Detroit gas stations and became a trucking tycoon who in 1979 bought the then 50-year-old privately built bridge, beating out famed investor Warren Buffet.
The married father of three, who lives in Grosse Pointe, Mich., declined to confirm whether he himself is a billionaire yet, but a tally of his shares in the various companies he owns suggests his net worth is close to that.
Moroun is defensive when it comes to the father he lost two years ago to congestive heart failure at the age of 93.
But it's no secret that the elder Moroun made enemies on both sides of the border. For example, when he bought up homes in a historic area called Old Sandwich Towne at the foot of his bridge in Windsor in anticipation of needing the land for a second bridge span. The homes were left vacant and in disrepair for years as he awaited expansion approvals.
Moroun says his father was stuck in a "legal quagmire" over the project, unable to demolish the structures, and that he's now trying to fix the issue and repair relationships.
But he has a long way to go to earn back locals' trust.
Windsor West MP Brian Masse grew up in the city and crossed the Ambassador Bridge using a library card for identification as a kid.
He watched the "block busting" that still plagues the neighbourhoods along the Detroit River in the shadow of the Ambassador.
He hopes for a new era in the company's relations with the city, but so far, he sees no evidence of it.
"It's unfortunate. I hope there will be a better day and always remain open to that," he said. "But the reality is what's in front of us, and there's a lot of work to do to repair the relationship."
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