Liberal infrastructure spending possible for Windsor: Marchand

Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce president Matt Marchand believes the city can access some of the infrastructure funds promised by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals.

The comments came even after Windsor and Essex County elected three MPs of the third party opposition.

During the election campaign Prime Minister-designate Trudeau promised to double investment on infrastructure in the country, raising the current $65 billion to approximately $125 billion.

Marchand said the chamber would use its network of contacts locally, provincially and nationally to bring some of those funds to the region.

“We’re going to be leveraging our chamber network and our local friends, allies and partners to bring forward the Windsor-Essex voice and we’re going to look forward to working with the new government as they pursue the new agendas,” said Marchand.

The chamber CEO said he met with both NDP representatives and spoke with the Liberal Party the week of Oct. 19 to maintain contact across party lines.

With the NDP holding third party status however, there is concern among local politicians and experts of whether the new and returning MPs in Windsor-Essex, Brian Masse (Windsor West), Cheryl Hardcastle (Windsor-Tecumseh) and Tracey Ramsey (Essex), will be able to bring funding to the region.

Lydia Miljan , political scientist at the University of Windsor, said holding third party status will not benefit Windsor’s infrastructure.

“It’s going to be more difficult to get our voices heard and I suspect that a lot of that money is going to go to say Toronto where they overwhelmingly voted in favour of the Liberals,” said Miljan.

Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens said even with potential struggles, the City will continue to work at bringing funds for infrastructure.

“We’ll be at the table fighting for our share to make sure that we get a share of the infrastructure dollars that are going to be made available to deliver for this community,” said Dilkens.

Trudeau’s infrastructure plan includes money to be put towards affordable housing, “green” projects and public transit, which Marchand said is an issue in Windsor-Essex.

“It is an issue that comes up on our chamber surveys to see what we can do to make that transit system a little bit better, a little bit wider, a little more frequent,” said Marchand.

But Windsor’s location is the primary reason the Liberal government should invest in the region. Marchand said it has a draw on a global scale.

“We are the number one trading location in the world and we need to enhance that infrastructure,” said Marchand.

Marchand said he plans to work with the new government when they reconvene, as well as the cabinet, which Trudeau said in a press conference, the day after the election, he plans to form Nov. 4.

“We’re going to make sure that Windsor-Essex, they’re getting their fair share and getting its voice heard and working collectively across party lines as we always do to ensure that our voice is heard.”

Marchand said though he wants to see more opportunities for local business, it will be up to the mayor and the warden to discuss specific projects to bring forward to parliament.

Meanwhile, with Parliament expected to reconvene early in the new year and a new cabinet being identified prior to that, it won’t be long before local speculation about infrastructure spending is put to rest.