Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce
2575 Ouellette Place, Windsor, ON, N8X 1L9

July 28, 2000

Hon. David M. Collenette
Minister of Transport
104 East Block
House of Commons
Parliament Hill
Ottawa, Ontario  K1A 0A6

Dear Minister:

Please let me thank you for the time and effort in our community.

As you know, Highway 401 is the busiest international trade corridor in North America. This important trade corridor feeds traffic to the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the busiest auto crossing between the United State and Canada. Furthermore, Highway 401 feeds traffic to the Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest international commercial crossing.

Those of us in the Windsor to London corridor are quite concerned by the extensive media reports depicting our corridor as a “killer highway” and/or “carnage alley.” These negative media reports have reached a crescendo and are being broadcast locally, regionally, nationally and, unfortunately, internationally. The Windsor Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to making Windsor a welcome place for investment and tourism. We have, therefore, decided that the improvement and safety of Highway 401 – especially from Windsor to London – is our number one transportation priority.

We can no longer sit back and allow the current situation to continue. We, as a Chamber, need all of the tools necessary to promote our community and our region as a wonderful and safe place to visit, and a great place to make a financial investment. We, therefore, request your immediate attention and support for the following:

A strong federal leadership role regarding the Highway 401 corridor;

Immediate funding for the expansion of Highway 401 to six lanes;

Adoption, in principal, of the 1999 CAA report (London to Windsor) “Recommendations from CAA Ontario for Improving Safety;”

The City of Windsor should receive equitable treatment as compared to the cities of Sarnia and Fort Erie, both of whom have 400 series highways leading directly to their international border crossings. These highways are not the responsibility of the local municipalities. Windsor’s position is unfair and untenable, and the federal and provincial governments should correct this historical wrong.

The development of a multi-modal national transportation plan.

We, as the Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce and I, personally, look forward to working with you in a positive, pro-active manner to ensure that Ontario and Canada’s pre-eminent trade position continues to improve.

The Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce represents 1,400 businesses who, collectively, employ over 80,000 staff.

Yours truly,

James E. (Ted) Farron
Chairman
Windsor & District Chamber of Commerce

cc:  Hon. David Turnbull, Minister of Transportation
       Hon. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of International Trade
       Hon. John Manley, Minister of Industry Canada
       Hon. Ernie Eves, Ministry of Finance
      

bcc: Walter Copeland
        Robert LaVigne