Carney Admits He 'Should Have Been Clearer' On Bridge Deal, Clarifies This Time By Speaking Slightly Louder
Prime Minister Mark Carney conceded Wednesday that he "should have been clearer" about the terms of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge agreement, a phrase Ottawa-watchers have identified as the polite Canadian equivalent of admitting nothing while apologizing for everything.
The original announcement, delivered in Carney's trademark register of a central banker reading a bedtime story, left several premiers under the impression that Canada had won concessions. It later emerged that the concessions in question were the right to keep paying for the bridge and the honour of naming a rest stop.
"When I said the agreement reflected shared priorities, what I meant was that the priorities are shared in the sense that we have them and the Americans have taken them," Carney explained, in remarks that his office later clarified were also unclear.
Windsor officials, who have watched the bridge inch toward completion for roughly the lifespan of a Galapagos tortoise, said they were unbothered. "We stopped listening to federal announcements about this bridge in 2018," said one city councillor. "We just look out the window to see if it's there yet."
Asked whether he would provide a third, even clearer explanation, Carney said he preferred to let the document speak for itself, then declined to release the document. The Prime Minister's Office confirmed a plain-language summary is being prepared, and will be ready shortly after the bridge is.