The Ben Mulroney Show - Toronto mayor says don't shop at a place that employs 30,000 Canadians

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

Guests and Topics: -Toronto mayor says don't shop at a place that employs 30,000 Canadians If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! ...https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:30 Welcome to the Ben Mulrooney Show. Thank you so much for joining us on this Tuesday, June 3rd. Thank you so much. There's a lot of news to get to today. Yesterday was the First Minister's Conference, where our 10 provincial premiers met with Mark Carney to level set on what to expect from this new liberal government. But Doug Ford, the Ontario premier, had a lot to say on a lot of issues.
Starting point is 00:00:56 You'll remember that a few days ago, or yesterday rather, Donald Trump surprised everybody with deciding that he was going to further defend the American steel worker by adding an additional 25% to all steel coming into the United States. Okay, sure. And so the reaction to that was Doug Ford saying that we will onshore every single widget we can. We are going to do everything we can to manufacture steel in this in this province, including as he
Starting point is 00:01:29 said, he talked about how ridiculous it is that we create the steel and aluminum, we ship it down the United States, they turn them into cans. So 25% tariff now 50 going down there, they're turned into aluminum cans, which is then shipped back. And then we produce labat beer, for example, and then we ship it back with another 25 now 50% tariff. So he said, we are going to make sure that we start building those aluminum cans in Canada, and the United States is going to miss out on billions of dollars of economic
Starting point is 00:02:00 activity. And for my money, I'm glad that that is the reaction of this province to this unholy and ridiculous trade war that Donald Trump is levying against this province. If the net result is more jobs in Canada, I'm here for it. We know that a few months ago, our premier floated the idea of a tunnel underneath the 401. If built, it would be the longest tunnel, I think in North America at least, at a cost that we don't know, on a timeline that we can't tell. And the pushback to that has been, why don't you just buy back the 407? It's cheaper, you can do it immediately, and you can free up valuable real estate on the 401, because as of right now, it's, you know, it's told, which means fewer people use it.
Starting point is 00:02:58 And yesterday, he announced sort of the removal of tolls on a certain portion of it, but by no means the entire thing. And so he was asked yesterday, because of the, I guess, in light of freeing up a portion of the 407, does he have an intention of pursuing his dream of a tunnel under the 401? Here's what he had to say. If the Prime Minister says he's not interested in that, is that idea effectively dead? No. No, we're going to get that tunnel done. How we say just because it hasn't been done, it doesn't mean it can't be done. And we've had a lot of firsts in Ontario. If I sat back seven years ago and talked to the media and said, we're going to spend $70 billion on transit, we're going to make sure that you know we have a transit system that
Starting point is 00:03:46 keeps up to the growth that we've seen over the number of years and that we're doing five subway lines. People say it can't be done. Well it's being done and we've moved along quite well with it. So we have the busiest highway in North America and it's costing us 25 billion dollars a year according to the Toronto Board of Trade. So we're going to make sure we get goods We have the busiest highway in North America, and it's costing us $25 billion a year,
Starting point is 00:04:05 according to the Toronto Board of Trade. So we're gonna make sure we get goods from point A to point B and get people home faster. Listen, I love the idea of big projects and thinking big. I really do. But when it comes to tunneling in this city, we're not so good at it. Like the Crosstown LRT is taking longer to build
Starting point is 00:04:24 than the Py the pyramids of Giza. And so frankly, I don't know that talking about the subways and all that stuff, I just don't know that we have it in us to do do that on a reasonable timeframe on a budget that we stick to where the 407 exists, we could buy it, I don't know what the cost is. And, you know, of course, this, the owners would want to have to sell it. But that's a, that's a problem that we can manage, you know, convincing somebody to sell something. It's all about price. So, yeah, like I, I'm, I like the idea of a tunnel. The idea of a tunnel, the execution of a tunnel is a completely different thing.
Starting point is 00:05:03 But the, the, the, the But the premier really wants to build it. Don't forget, he said first we'd have to do a feasibility study. So to me, I would want some clarification. Like I thought all of this was contingent on a feasibility study, but he seems to be saying, regardless of that feasibility study, he's building this. So I really need to know more about what that exactly means.
Starting point is 00:05:27 But I like that he thinks big. I mean, I'm looking at the glass half full. All right, we've got some, we've got a big story that we need to drill down into and our good friend, Greg Brady sort of set the table for us. As you know, Google and Home Depot used to be long- term partners with Pride Toronto. And they recently announced that they were ending their partnership of Pride. And here
Starting point is 00:05:54 is what our mayor had to say about that sizable loss in funding for what is a huge event and tourist event for the city of Toronto. Now we've all seen the depressing news. Huh? Pride Toronto have lost some corporate sponsor because they just don't know who they are. Huh? They're short sighted. They don't know who they are. And the first round of corporate cuts, about $300,000, the City of Toronto said, you know what? We're going to come to the table. We will provide a grant that is $350,000
Starting point is 00:06:37 and every year for five years, 62% increasing the funding by 2027. Yeah, that's how committed to you. All right, I've got a lot to say about this and we are going to explore that after the break. And I'm pretty sure you know some of the things I'm gonna say, but a lot you don't. So we're gonna explore that after the break, but quickly, I gotta talk about this
Starting point is 00:07:01 because there's a new study that came out that said your daily cup of coffee could help you live longer and healthier. And like this is a litmus test, right? Because if you Google coffee healthy or coffee unhealthy, you're going to find studies on either side. And I promise you, if you wait long enough, we're going to be able to tell you a story about the exact opposite than this. But if this is to be believed that a cup of coffee is going to help you live longer and healthier, then by God, I'm going to live to be 175 years old. That's just a fact. The amount of coffee I drink. I mean, I think I've had six cups this morning. Yeah. Six, six cups of coffee. And now
Starting point is 00:07:40 I've switched to water because I've got to dilute that in my system. But I'm fired up this morning, guys. I'm fired up. And you're going to hear all about it on the other side of this break because we're gonna be taking your calls on Toronto, the Toronto mayor's position on home depot Canada. It's, it's a doozy. Don't go anywhere. This is the Ben Mulroney show. Now that the warm weather is here, is it time to get rid of your old car? Oh sure, it's served you well, but you know, it would be kind of nice to have something
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Starting point is 00:09:15 Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney Show. All right, I want to jump right back into this story. The news yesterday that Home Depot Canada as well as Google have pulled their funding from Pride Toronto. They both put out statements that did not explain their motivation. I don't know why they pulled their funding. I have my suspicions, but I have absolutely no clue why. And the fact is, neither does the mayor. Neither does Chris Moyes. And yet, despite that, here is what Olivia Chow told a crowd yesterday. Here's what the mayor of Toronto told a crowd yesterday about Home Depot Canada. What? Okay.
Starting point is 00:09:53 We won't even, I know, I hate telling them. Yeah, don't shop at Home Depot. Okay. Yeah. Anyway, shop Canadian. Shop local. No? Yeah. Yes. Yes. We are not the 51st state. Are you
Starting point is 00:10:11 kidding? We are proud to Antonia's right. Yeah. What a jumbled mess of non sequiturs. First of all, Home Depot Canada employs over 30,000 people in 182 stores across 10 provinces in this country. Second of all, Rona is owned by a US venture capital firm out of New York City. So right there, she's talking out of something other than her mouth, right? She doesn't sound like a mayor, she sounds like an activist. She sounds like she works for pride.
Starting point is 00:10:43 And if a mayor would have looked, gone from those microphones and said, I'm calling on Home Depot, Canada and Google to come to my offices so I can understand their motivation and I can help get them back to a place where they are comfortable supporting financially Pride Toronto. She did none of that. She called on people to boycott a company that employs 30,000 Canadians. Shameful. Here's another example of an activist pretending to be a politician. I recently heard from Pride Toronto that Home Depot and Google are pulling back funding to Pride Toronto amidst the attack. Yes, shame. Absolutely. Attack on diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives in the US. From Nissan to Adidas to Amazon, we need to call them out for not being all in.
Starting point is 00:11:35 You cannot be supporting Pride only when it's convenient to do so. So I would encourage all of our true allies to step up and continue to support Pride Toronto in their mission. Show us the money. Put your money where your mouth is. As Canadians, yes, money talks and bullsh** talks. This is not a leader. This is an activist. You should not be drawing a paycheck from the city of Toronto. You sound like an activist. You do not sound like somebody representing a broad group of Torontonians. You are naming and shaming companies that employ Canadians
Starting point is 00:12:18 because you don't like a decision they made, and you've done nothing to learn about why they are doing that? What is wrong with you? I also learned something that nobody yet knows. I'm gonna be the first person to talk about it probably in Canada, but I have it on very good authority that Home Depot Canada is looking to move their corporate offices from the Don Valley Parkway
Starting point is 00:12:38 into a new flagship building that they will build in the port lands, as well as building a flagship new Home Depot down there for a number of reasons. One, they've done the market research that suggests that there is a lot of business to be done there, that there's new apartments popping up, essentially a brand new town down there, and also its proximity to all of the TV and film studios just down the way. It would be an economic boon for the city. Despite that, there are people in the city, including, I believe, Paula Fletcher,
Starting point is 00:13:06 who doesn't want it there. So I told you about a hundred jobs would be created there. Apparently this has reached the highest levels of Home Depot and they're thinking they may pull their corporate office from Toronto and move it to Calgary. Now all of this happened in a vacuum completely separate from this boycott that our mayor and Chris Moyes is calling for. Let me ask you a question. Do you think that's going to make it more or less likely that they keep their corporate office here in Toronto?
Starting point is 00:13:36 What the hell are we doing as a city? Do we have full employment? Do we have full employment in this city? You're naming and shaming people who are employing people in the city of Toronto and you're actively looking to shun an entire corporate office? This is the nonsense of this city. This is why I always say this city survives and thrives despite the people that run it. Because you've just been given examples of people who are allergic to economic development and they are shunning it in real time. Now it's time to take your calls at 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK. My god, this is a nannity. Let's welcome George to the show. George, thanks so much for calling in.
Starting point is 00:14:20 Hey, good morning, Ben. I couldn't wait to get in on this one. Yeah, please. You know what? Here's what we need to do. We need to have provincial or federal legislation that says that cities and school boards only have a certain parameter of which they are allowed to spend money on and which they are allowed to vote on.
Starting point is 00:14:39 Anything outside of that needs to be considered special interest and hands off from government. Because it's just insane what's going on you know earlier Greg Brady was talking about school boards uh changing their curriculum just to have their own will and changing names and you've got Mayor Chow here uh standing up we're going to give you 350 000 a year and 62 increase every year there oh yeah we were absolutely we're we are we are on a path that will lead to full municipal funding of
Starting point is 00:15:07 Pride with no corporate support. And look, like I said, I have my reasons. I suspect I know why they're pulling their support. It has nothing to do with not wanting to support Pride. In my opinion, it's what Pride has become. And we can delve into that later. But again, I don't know and neither does she. And for her to ascribe motivation is irresponsibility to the nth degree. George, thank you for calling in. Let's welcome Dan to the conversation.
Starting point is 00:15:34 Good morning, good morning. Good morning. Yeah, we have a Marxist mayor moron running the city. Well, I'm not gonna, let's avoid the ad hominem attacks. And let's stick to the actions and let's judge the actions in the city. Well, I'm not, I'm not going to, I, I, let's, let's avoid the ad hominem attacks and let's, let's stick, let's stick to the actions and let's, let's judge the actions in the words. Marxist mayor. That's what it is. We've got the state involved in everything. I'm on my way right now to home depot and Ronas where I'm going to spend a significant amount of
Starting point is 00:15:59 money at both places because I decide to. They, you said it right. They're activists, but they're using our money for their purposes. We got to get rid. I've actually given up on the voters. It's never going to change. This whole city is pink and red and it's never going to change. If you started out as an activist and you were an effective activist, it is very hard to change your stripes and become a politician who wants to represent everybody. Because by definition, the way you see the world is through a keyhole.
Starting point is 00:16:27 You see a special interest. You have focused on it for so long, you do not know how to appeal to the broader community. Both the mayor and Chris Moyes, if I didn't know their voices, I would have assumed that they were employees of pride. Honestly, they did not sound like they had a mandate from a broader group besides a special interest group.
Starting point is 00:16:50 And to me, it is, that's why Doug Ford sticks his nose into bike lanes, because you've got this behavior that is beneath, beneath City Hall. You're actively shunning, you're actively shunning corporate interest in the city. And when I tell you the story that they may pick up their corporate office and move it to Calgary because of this.
Starting point is 00:17:16 They were already thinking about it because the city is making it hard for them to build a flagship down in the Portland. Oh, we don't want a big box down here. Really with 10, 15, 20% unemployment in this city. Are you really in a position to be picky about the types of jobs? Nevermind the fact that its location is central to helping the film and television industry,
Starting point is 00:17:37 because this would be the place where they get everything they need to build their sets. My goodness. How blind are some of these leaders at City Hall that they think that they have the luxury? To pick and choose and be and look down their noses at a company like Home Depot Because they don't like their decision as to where they're putting their their philanthropic number money again You don't know why they did it because you haven't you haven't called upon them to have a meeting rather than that You'd rather publicly name and shame them? That's not the role of the city politicians.
Starting point is 00:18:11 That's the role of a protester. That is the role of an activist. And you stopped being an activist the second you put yourself forth to become the mayor of this city. And that is not how the mayor behaves. Let's welcome Mike to the show. Mike, welcome to the Ben Mulrooney show. Ben, not a fan. The list grows. We have the person you're talking about now. We have Fred
Starting point is 00:18:36 Hahn. When are we going to put these people in court and get them fired? But you can't. They're either union or they're government employees. And you know what? Who cares? Who cares about the regular taxpayers? Great day, Ben. Thank you very much, my friend. I'll win you over one day. Hey, let's welcome George to the show. George, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Hey, good morning, Ben. I know you say you've been having a lot of coffee. You should switch to espresso. That's a nice one too. But I think the city of Toronto, there's never stupid politicians. There's only stupid voters. All of downtown Toronto core who votes
Starting point is 00:19:11 liberal, they're all terrorists, anarchists and protestors. We're not going to listen to that. George, I want to keep you on the call, keep this call going, but I really don't want to be tarring people with unfairly like that. We won't but one one last comment here because my expressions you won't let them come on air but I think the city of Toronto ever since uh chow chow got into politics there and running the city the only people that I know that they open your wallet to throw money at us are drag queens the city of Toronto has become a drag show. Again I that to me I'm not really looking to to looking to lob ad hominem attacks. And I think that's unfair.
Starting point is 00:19:49 Pride has been, it's an economic boon. I mean, we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars brought into the province or brought into the city because of it. But if corporate Canada doesn't want to invest, I think maybe they should look in the mirror and ask themselves, how can we make ourselves investable for you? Anyway, we're going to keep this conversation going after the break. Welcome back. We are talking about the mayor taking a position on Home Depot without having all of the facts calling on a boycott of a company that employs 30,000 Canadians, sounding more like an activist than a mayor in a city that is not at full
Starting point is 00:20:25 employment actively shunning companies that are employing people in this city. This is to me the height of civic irresponsibility. I want to hear what you have to say at 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225. Talk please welcome Noah to the conversation. Noah how do you do? Hey Ben how how are you? I'm well, thank you. What do you have to say? A couple of points. So the city did this to Tesla a few months ago. Yeah. Right. Same thing. Tesla employs lots of people across Canada. People has cars made with the highest North American parts content compared to any other manufacturer. So we're in a crisis. Like the prime minister keeps saying we're bordering on a recession. I think this is why, you know, companies are kind of scaling back investments into events like this.
Starting point is 00:21:06 Right. First place for us to be shunning and trying to push these companies and jobs away is crazy. And the second point I just wanted to make generally about pride. I think there's plenty of marches and parades that happen in the city. I mean, the walk for is happen last week and people fundraise a lot of money for these events, people, individuals, smaller groups. I'm sure the same happens with pride, but I think, you know, if this is such a large festival, or there's so many people who care so deeply about it, then I think that people need to put
Starting point is 00:21:33 their money where their mouth is, you know, donate and continue to try and fundraise more to make sure these events continue. I don't think it's all up to corporate sponsors who ultimately have bigger priorities than funding parades. And thank you for saying that Noah. And like, is this where we are in the city of Toronto that unless you do and say exactly what certain people at city council say they will use their bully pulpit to besmirch you to attack your corporate reputation. They are going to ascribe motivation to you that they do not have and they do not understand. And they're gonna attack you and call you out. Is that where we are?
Starting point is 00:22:13 If you cross the mayor, she's gonna call on a boycott of you? Is that how things work now? Is that a business friendly attitude to have at the highest level of City Hall? And, and, and game it out for me. Like, how does this end for you? How does this end for these companies that employ Canadians, employ Torontonians? Are you going to go so far as to call for them to leave the city? Because it sounds like you are, you don't want people shopping there. So essentially,
Starting point is 00:22:42 what you're saying is you hope they close down, like it out for me, madam mayor game it out for me. Chris Moyes, tell me what your end game is here. Please welcome Robert to the conversation. Robert, thanks so much for calling in 22 points. Number one, a few weeks ago when there was a walk for Israel, it couldn't be found, couldn't be heard, couldn't be seen. And then she wants, she's going all nuts on this. And the second point, the only parade in Toronto that should be financed or helped out with... Oh, sorry, what'd you say? The only, say, Robert, repeat that, I lost you.
Starting point is 00:23:18 The only parade that should be funded is what? The Santa Claus Parade. That's the only parade that should be funded. Everything else, if you want to, if you have a good parade, let them finance it themselves. Let them pay for the police themselves. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:23:31 It's not up to you and I, Joe, it says. Yeah. Listen, and thank you very much for that. Look, I don't know why Home Depot pulled their funding. I don't know why Google pulled their funding. I don't know why Merck Pharmaceuticals significantly reduced theirs. It could be any number of factors.
Starting point is 00:23:45 It could be the changing economic landscape. It could be the tariffs. It could be the position that pride has taken on Israel. It could be the increasing militancy towards the police. I don't know what it is. I'm not. I'm just telling you what it could be. But the mayor doesn't know either, because the mayor hasn't reached out to Home Depot.
Starting point is 00:24:07 A leader would have done that. A leader would have called a summit between these corporate leaders and Pride. And they could have brought them together and said, how can we get to a yes? How can we get you back to the table so that you can support what is a real economic driver in the city of Toronto.
Starting point is 00:24:25 I've got the numbers here over the course of 2023. The Pride Festival contributed almost $600 million to the province's GDP, generating $231 million in combined tax revenues and supported almost 5,000 direct jobs. Attendees spent an average of 256 bucks during the festival with most of the spending occurring during Pride weekend. This is not nothing, right? I am not suggesting the mayor should not have an interest in making sure that Pride is economically viable. I'm suggesting that the path that she has taken is in direct contravention to that mission. You're alienating someone who used to be an ally of Pride, and you are making it so they probably won't want to have anything to do with Pride in the future.
Starting point is 00:25:13 This seems like a sticky wicket. We want nothing to do with it. And not for nothing, when you throw in the story that I told you earlier about the corporate office wanting to move down to the port lands alongside a new flagship store, and they're getting pushed back from the city. I don't even know if Home Depot is going to make their home in Toronto anymore. They could move out to Calgary where I guarantee you they will have greener pastures. So this look there is a lot to get to here. We're going to follow this story. I have no doubt it is going to continue to develop. with the new BMO VI Porter MasterCard and get up to $2,400 in value in your first 13 months.
Starting point is 00:26:07 Terms and conditions apply. Visit BMO.com slash VI Porter to learn more. Welcome back to the Ben Mulroney Show. I want to talk about Doug Ford's dream of building a pipeline pipeline, building a tunnel underneath the 401. You'll remember he floated that idea before the election. He said that it would get the city moving. We've got the busiest highway in the world in the 401. And he said that there would be a feasibility study first at the first minister's conference.
Starting point is 00:26:43 He was asked, well,, as you're sitting with Mark Carney talking about all these national infrastructure projects, what would happen if Mark Carney said there will be no federal funds for your tunnel dream? And this is what he had to say. If the Prime Minister says he's not
Starting point is 00:26:58 interested in that, is that idea effectively dead? No. We're going to get that tunnel done. Just because it hasn't been done, it doesn't mean it can't be done. We've had a lot of firsts in Ontario. If I sat back seven years ago and talked to the media and said we're going to spend $70 billion on transit, we're going to make sure
Starting point is 00:27:17 that we have a transit system that keeps up to the growth that we've seen over the number of years and that we're doing five subway lines. People would say it can't be done. Well, it's being done and we've moved along quite well with it. So we have the busiest highway in North America and it's costing us $25 billion a year according
Starting point is 00:27:38 to the Toronto Board of Trade. So we're going to make sure we get goods from point A to point B and get people home faster. Okay. So look, I to make sure we get goods from point A to point B and get people home faster. Okay, so look, I love the idea of the tunnel. I think it's a cool idea. But the devil is in the details. I would not support it if it if the cost was ridiculous. And if the timeline to build it was onerous. I was doing some back of the napkin math. And Elon Musk has a company called the Boring Company. They've been building tunnels all over the place, like underneath Las Vegas, for example.
Starting point is 00:28:10 And look, I know that working with Elon Musk company is off the table. Doug Ford has said that the other one work with Starlink, so no reason to suggest that he would work with the Boring Company. However, I just want to get a sense of how fast these companies dig. And they've got a they've got a technology called the proof rock TBM. And it's designed to dig at a rate of more than a mile per week. Okay, so we're trying to build a 55 kilometer tunnel. That's 34 miles. If we had one of those machines at either side, and they started digging at the same time to meet in the middle, that would be over two miles a week, which means they could finish up digging the tunnel,
Starting point is 00:28:52 not having it ready for use, in about 17 weeks. That seems like a half dec... That's far faster than I thought. But look, we live in a city where we bought electric ferries and forgot to buy the machine to charge them. I don't have a lot of trust that necessarily the people who design these things would stick to a 17 week timeline. I just don't.
Starting point is 00:29:19 And then of course there's the cost involved. And what would we have to move out of the way to ensure that we could put these giant machines down there? I mean, we built a crosstown LRT and the amount of a disruption to the to the to life above ground was insane. I mean, anybody who spent any time around young young and Eglinton for the better part of a decade knows that just because you're digging underground doesn't mean you're not going to have disruptions above ground. So the question I have for you at 416-870-6400 or 1-888-225-TALK, Doug Ford really wants to build this thing.
Starting point is 00:29:56 Are you on board with that plan or do you think that the more feasible, more realistic plan would be to build to buy back the 407? Let me know what you have to think and what would you have to say. I want to wait for the feasibility study because I want to I want to compare apples to oranges. Right. And maybe there's a hybrid where we could I don't know lease back the 407 until the tunnels done. I don't know. Tony, welcome to the Ben Mulroney show. Hi, good morning, Ben. Good morning. Rolling and drilling tunneling and drilling is the easy part. What is the complexity is the rerouting of existing infrastructure, and that's where the team of engineers get involved.
Starting point is 00:30:32 That's where you have a multitude of procurement contracts, and that's where you have the delays in the work specification. Rerouting existing infrastructure. That's the key. Yeah. I mean, you're right. Every single exit on the 401 would require a tunnel coming back up. And does that mean closing every single one of those,
Starting point is 00:30:52 one after the other? How long does that take? You're absolutely right. You'd have drainage issues. You would have electrification issues. You'd have to have ventilation would have to go in there. So there's 17 weeks just to dig it. That's fine.
Starting point is 00:31:07 But do you add another year, two, three, four years before they're fully operational? That's a very, very good point. Grace, welcome to the Ben Mulroney Show. Hi there. Yeah, so my problem with that idea is I am not driving for miles and miles underground. There's no way if there was an accident,
Starting point is 00:31:26 how are you getting people? Look at what happened with that tunnel accident. And my last thing that I'll say is, I don't know who decided to close the off-ramp to the lake shore from the Gardner and choose the Jarvis ramp. The shortest ramp were all backed up onto the Gardner. I know, it doesn't make any sense.
Starting point is 00:31:44 None, zero. Yeah, and yet here wener. I know it doesn't make any sense. None. Yeah. And yet, here we are. I mean, we've we closed down. I mean, I remember right now we've got that part of the Gardner closed for three years. But prior to that, do you remember how they would close it for weeks at a time for maintenance? I've never heard about that on any other highway in the world. We're just not good at this sort of thing around here. And so this is the most ambitious thing that we would probably be building in the province of We're just not good at this sort of thing around here. And so this is the most ambitious thing that we would probably be building in the province of Ontario since the CN tower back
Starting point is 00:32:10 in the day. And I just don't know that we've proven ourselves ready for it. I don't know. Again, I want to see the feasibility study first before I make up my mind. Who do we have next? We got Frank. Frank, welcome to the show. Great show as usual. Love the chow stuff. So it's an absolute fantasy. How could you possibly dig a tunnel under the 401 through Toronto? It's populated. There's a subway system. There's all kinds of different grids running underground. How deep would you have to dig to avoid that? It is absolute. What are you going to do in the DPP? Are you going to build a bridge? Impossible. Of course you should buy back before 07.
Starting point is 00:32:52 Yeah, because we can do that tomorrow, right? Yeah. Yeah. You could dig 17 miles in a farmer's field in dirt. I'm sure you could. You're not digging through the city. It is, I'd suggest it's impossible. Well, I would, you know, but I was talking to Greg Brady yesterday, and he did point out that, yes, if we bought back the 407, that still doesn't get you into the city. And we would have all these choke points north south, as people are trying to migrate down into the city. So if we could build the 407, and additionally find ways to expand access points from the 407 into the city, then that would be a really interesting plan that I would like to hear more about as well. Cam, welcome to the Ben Mulrooney show. Yeah, Ben, the tunnel is a dream. You're tunneling on an old lake bed. What do you think's
Starting point is 00:33:38 going to happen? I thought the lake bed was closer to the lake. No, the lake bed is the old shoreline of the Niagara Scarpment of Lake Hale, Iroquois, and Algonquin. Well, yeah. And that's why, Cam, all the more reason to have a feasibility study and let us know whether it's possible. I'm not looking for a feasibility study
Starting point is 00:34:00 so that I can green light it in my mind and be an enthusiastic champion. I just want to know what we're dealing with. You can tear it. Okay, like put it on stilts, the landstow remains good below the bridge except when the construction is happening. Fly back to 407 because you paid for that and your bill taxes, by the way. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, hey, thank you so much for the call. Nick, welcome to the show. Hi, Ben. I currently actually, long story. I've worked tunneling mining by the side.
Starting point is 00:34:28 Oh, really? So I know about a little bit of depth, but I also work for Metrolinx. I'm currently on the Finch line and I did Eglinton. So obviously the buyback is number one. Number two, what about a bypass? So let's say from the 427 to possibly the 404 or someone Scarborough, that it's just a bypass tunnel. It doesn't necessarily connect the entire street but it allows like a total bypass. Yeah, I would be down to explore that. I think you bring up a really interesting point.
Starting point is 00:34:55 And that's why I love having these conversations because our listeners have experiences that inform their ideas far more creatively than I. We've got time for one last call with Stanley. Stanley, welcome to the show. What do you think? Is it a is the tunnel a pipe dream? Well, listen, I mean, a lot of cities, they have them. Ukraine's got tunnels. United States has a huge underground military can turn into be turned into a civilian tunnel. But the
Starting point is 00:35:21 best thing was to do it by back to 407. But this is not for us. This is for generations to come, these tunnels. So, I mean, who knows why they want to build these tunnels and why they want to get people underground, but they're not for us. They're for our kids' kids. They got other plans. And yeah, and I concede that as well. I mean, we have to do something and whatever we do now we're going to do something again later on as well. But again, feasibility study. Show me the math. Show me the cost. Show me the time.
Starting point is 00:35:49 And also show me what's going to happen to the surrounding area and the people around the 401 as you are digging underneath. But I want to thank everybody for participating in that conversation. The 2025 Nissan Sentra isn't just another compact car. It's Consumer Reports top pick in that conversation. for up to 48 months. Top rated, trusted, with an offer that's hard to beat. Hurry into your local dealer and drive away in a new center today. Includes 0.5% loyalty reduction for qualifying Nissan owners. Conditioned supply. See Nissan.ca for details.

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