Windsor faces issues with U.S. shutdown

By Richard Riosa

Local business and tourism experts foresee a potentially negative impact on the Windsor-Detroit border due to the U.S. government shutdown.

The United States government announced a temporary shutdown Oct. 1. It was caused by a dispute over the government’s fiscal budget which included funding for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

As a result of the shutdown, more than 800,000 government employees will be out of work until the issue is resolved. Top officials recently confirmed that all crucial services, such as customs and airport security, will remain operational during the shutdown.

President and CEO of the Windsor-Essex Chamber of Commerce Matt Marchand said he is worried about the shutdown’s impact on Windsor. Marchand said export and trade are the lifeblood of Essex County.

“What we’re concerned about is a material impact on trade, commerce and tourism between our two great countries,” said Marchand.

Marchand said Essex County and south eastern Michigan essentially function as one economic community and any impact on border processing and wait times will have a negative financial impact on the area. Although there have not been any issues yet, Marchand said the chamber of commerce is monitoring the situation and keeping local businesses informed.

Windsorites who work in the Detroit area could also be negatively affected by the shutdown, according to Marchand.

“We want to make sure flow of trade and professional exchange of services continues,” said Marchand.

Marchand said both the provincial and federal chambers of commerce are in contact with politicians to stress the economic importance of the Windsor-Detroit border remaining efficient and operational.

Larry Horwitz, chair of the Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association, said he is also looking to the federal government to monitor the situation and provide help to downtown businesses.

“The real effects won’t come for a couple weeks,” said Horwitz. “But it’s definitely something we have to look at and we have to alert our federal members of parliament to try and come up with a contingency plan if the border does become intrusive (to local business).”

Horwitz said the shutdown has the potential to greatly affect Windsor’s downtown businesses. A large portion of the downtown economy is made up of people coming across the border, according to Horwitz.

CEO of Tourism Windsor, Essex, Pelee Island Gordon Orr said roughly two-thirds of the county’s tourism revenue comes from across the border. Orr said any time there is a real or perceived border related issue, people fear crossing over to another country.

“The longer this goes on, any staff reduction at the border for any reason will not be received positively,” said Orr. He also said the 800,000 federal workers involved in the shutdown may negatively impact local tourism.

“A lot of those workers also travel, so there’s the fact that their pocketbooks are being affected and they’re not going to travel and not travel to Canada and Windsor-Essex,” said Orr.

Orr said as the shutdown continues it will only reinforce the negative perception of the Windsor-Detroit border.

Horwitz also said Windsor’s issues will become more severe as the shutdown continues.
“We’re not concerned yet,” said Horwitz. “But we have to be aware and prepared in case it does (get worse).”