MIDDLE-CLASS PROSPERITY
Fortier taking the region’s pulse
As the federal minister charged with guarding the well-being of Canada’s middle class, Mona Fortier came to Windsor Tuesday to put her finger on the pulse of the region as part of the Liberals’ pre-budget consultations.
“Coming to Windsor has been eye opening,” Fortier said after meeting with Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens and Essex County Warden and Tecumseh Mayor Gary Mcnamara in the morning, followed by an assortment of community stakeholders in the afternoon. Irek Kusmierczyk, the Liberal rookie MP for Windsor-tecumseh, accompanied Fortier throughout the day.
“We are moving on making sure we listen to Canadians for the next few weeks and understanding how we should be focused on priorities,” said Fortier, who also serves as both associate minister of finance and minister of middle-class prosperity.
From Dilkens and Mcnamara, Fortier heard concerns about the future of the auto sector, the lack of affordable housing and the threat brought by climate change and flooding.
“We know the Windsor region has its challenges with protecting the auto sector and also diversifying,” Fortier said. “So what else can we do to support that, to protect the auto sector because theses are good, well-paying jobs.”
Fortier listened to the toll taken by flooding from severe weather incidents and elevated water levels on the Great Lakes.
“You had many families struck by these floods, we have to find those solutions,” she said. “We know climate change is a very strong factor here. This is something I heard loud and clear. We have to concentrate on helping where the need is. That’s one issue that was raised and that we will be looking at.”
Fortier acknowledged that the challenges and needs of Windsor families are different from those in Calgary and that “both are important, so how do we make sure we adapt and support Canadians? That struggle middle-class families have is still there. We know income is not rising as fast as costs.”
She noted how the Liberal government’s raising the Canadian Child Benefit has been credited with lifting 278,000 children out of poverty between 2015 and 2017.
Fortier said that according to Kusmierczyk, 27,000 local families benefited from the increase.
“So we know we’ve been doing good but we still have work to do,” she said. “Canadians feel that squeeze. What else can we do to support these initiatives and also understand the affordability issue here in Windsor?”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau installed Fortier in the new ministry focused on middle-class prosperity in November. Fortier said her marching orders are to focus on affordability and quality of life as a continuation of Trudeau’s efforts to strengthen the middle class.
“We must continue to focus on the middle class because that is the driver of our economy,” she said.
While Minister of Finance Bill Morneau and his shared parliamentary press secretary Sean Fraser hit other parts of the country, Fortier was heading to London Wednesday.
“I’m trying to gather some information on the different regions,” she said. “So I have a good idea of the Southwestern Ontario reality.”
Anyone wishing to share their thoughts on priorities for the next federal budget can do so online at www.budget.gc.ca/pbc.