Windsor mayor vetoes tunnel bus; councilors believe there's an appetite to override him

Several Windsor, Ont. city councillors have said they believe there could be an appetite to pursue an override of a mayoral veto that puts an end to the Windsor-Detroit tunnel bus.

Monday's city council meeting is the only regularly scheduled meeting where it could take place within the 15-day override window provided for in the province's new strong mayor legislation.

"What we need to do as a council is now decide whether we want this to happen on Monday at our council meeting,"  Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino said.

"[Or] do we want to give this 15 days to see if cooler heads will prevail. Those are the conversations that we're having right now, to be frank with you."

Mayor Drew Dilkens on Thursday vetoed the Jan. 27 decision of city council that would have continued tunnel bus service and doubled its fare.

He wrote in his mayoral decision, published on the city's website, that the bus serves as an economic development engine for the City of Detroit while providing almost no economic benefit for Windsor.

Two-thirds majority needed to override veto

And he said he was not prepared to continue funding it in light of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats against Canada.

He also said that the fare increase was likely to drive down ridership, reducing the likelihood that it would bring the service closer to breaking even.

"This fare increase makes the tunnel bus service more expensive than driving a car to Detroit (including the cost of tolls and parking fees)," he wrote.

Council voted 7-4 on Jan. 27 to preserve the tunnel bus and double its fare from $10 to $20.

Councillors would need a two-thirds majority to overturn the mayor's veto.

Agostino said he has been talking with Ward 4 Coun. Mark McKenzie, who voted against the tunnel bus in January but only because he wanted the fare increase to be higher.

But Agostino said McKenzie is in a difficult position.

"I hope that cooler heads prevail here like they have across the nation, and that the mayor would reconsider withdrawing his veto," Agostino said.

Coun. Kieran McKenzie said the issue has divided councillors at a time when they need to be focused on coming together. 

He said he would be happy to support a compromise on the tunnel bus to address the mayor's concerns about taking a stand on U.S. tariff threats – such as by suspending, rather than ending, the service.

'Uncharted territory'

Coun. Angelo Marignani, meanwhile, said he would like to see the city work with the City of Detroit on a solution.

Coun. Fabio Costante said Thursday that he had not yet spoken to his fellow councillors about the veto, and he needed to familiarize himself with the process for reversing a one because this would be the first time council would attempt it.

"We're trying to build a plane as we're flying because this is uncharted territory," he said. "But certainly, I'm going to be consistent and support the tunnel bus."

The union representing transit workers says it's filed a complaint with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board over the mayoral veto.

Manny Sforza, the international vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), says he believes the cancellation of the tunnel bus is because the cross-border nature of the service places Transit Windsor under federal legislation that requires it to offer all workers 10 paid sick days per year.

Dilkens did not mention the paid sick days in his veto decision, but he referred to them as a "dramatic" subsidy during a Jan. 13 council meeting.

Sforza says that's not fair. 

"We bargained with the City of Windsor specific language that addresses these 10 federal sick days that have become the focal point of cancelling the tunnel bus," Sforza said.

"And while we were at the bargaining table, we gave items back to the city to offset the costs."

Sforza would not provide CBC with any examples of those concessions.

The city has not responded to CBC's request for a comment on the complaint. 

Dilkens has also faced criticism elsewhere for his promise to veto the tunnel bus decision.

One rider has launched a petition to save the bus, and riders on both sides of the border have said they rely on the service because they can't afford automobiles.