Essex County Counts: Our Message to Federal Candidates

Make sure the candidates knocking on your door this election campaign know that Essex County counts. Make sure they know that we have issues and priorities that need to be addressed. There are four key areas where a federal government committed to serving the residents of Essex County can help us build a brighter, more prosperous future:

• Sustainable and resilient infrastructure
• Strategic business investments
• Universal access to high-speed internet
• Affordable housing

We are addressing these issues with our local partners – the seven municipalities that make up Essex County and the City of Windsor – but we can’t do it without support and funding from higher levels of government.

Essex County counts. We have more than 180,000 residents and are rapidly growing. We are home to the largest vegetable greenhouse cluster in North America and are the beating heart of Canada’s automotive technology sector. Our climate, balance of rural and urban living, and proximity to Toronto and Detroit make this an ideal location for raising a family and for work and leisure activities.

We are building a resilient, sustainable, inclusive and dynamic community that will make Canada stronger. Federal commitments in the following four areas will help us succeed.

Sustainable and resilient infrastructure

Municipalities are responsible for the infrastructure that is the foundation of strong communities. The funding available for this essential work needs a significant and permanent boost from the federal government.

The 1,500 lane kilometres of roads Essex County maintains and our ever-expanding active transportation network are the lifelines that connect our residents and businesses. We have been disciplined and fiscally prudent in keeping them up to date, but limited funding and climate change mean we need to make bigger investments.

We are experiencing more frequent floods, shoreline erosion and severe weather events. We need to build infrastructure that can withstand this onslaught while taking steps to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change.

We have a plan. Implementing our recently completed Essex County Regional Energy Plan will increase community-wide energy efficiency by at least 50 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60 per cent by 2041. This will require federal investments in clean energy production and electric vehicle manufacturing, as well as increased incentives to make homes energy efficient.

Strategic business investments: automotive technology and food production

Due to our proximity to the U.S. border and our location at the nexus of the North American economy, businesses and industries in our region have been hit harder than many by the pandemic. They have adapted remarkably to create safer workplaces and fill gaps in the supply chain, but there is more to be done.

Going forward, we need the federal government to make strategic investments to strengthen our automotive technology sector and encourage the production of electric vehicles and key components in Canada. This is our chance to be in on the ground floor of a seismic shift in transportation. In Windsor-Essex, we have a skilled workforce and the business infrastructure to succeed coupled with a proud history of ingenuity and technological innovation.

In the agri-food industry, which has faced significant challenges related to COVID-19, we need the federal government to take full responsibility for ensuring the health and well-being of the thousands of temporary foreign workers so vital to our food supply chain. Municipal agencies can’t be left to make due while higher levels of government try to sort out who is responsible for what. The division of responsibilities needs to be clear and consistent.

Universal access to high-speed internet

Even in Southwestern Ontario, one of Canada’s more densely populated areas, there are communities, homes and businesses without reliable internet access. Year after year, kilometres of fibre-optic cables are being laid to close the gaps. We need to move faster.

The pandemic has shown us that a high-speed internet connection is an essential service, whether for work or school or receiving health care. We rely on the internet for an increasing number of daily activities. Rural communities can’t be left behind. The internet can help put our residents and businesses on an equal footing with those in large urban areas. We need continued federal investments to ensure every resident in Essex County has access to fast and reliable high-speed internet, from the farm field to the factory floor.

Affordable housing

Our region has seen home prices surge and waiting lists for affordable housing grow. The numbers are alarming, with more than 5,000 families on the waiting list. The demand is there. We need the supply. We desperately need additional federal support to reduce these waiting lists and ensure more residents don’t find their housing costs outstripping their incomes.

Windsor-Essex has a Housing and Homelessness Master Plan and is putting significant funding into providing safe and affordable housing, as well as providing other supports, to residents with limited incomes. But the longstanding waiting list for affordable housing and an aging supply of subsidized housing in need of major rehabilitation mean we are always one step behind.

Enhanced federal incentives to boost the affordable housing supply will help us catch up and help ensure our hard-working residents can find homes for their families. These incentives will pay huge dividends by making our communities more livable and resilient.

Emerging strong

Canada has spent most of the last two years responding to the many challenges of the pandemic. Now we want our federal government to look ahead and look to municipalities as the vehicles that can help drive this country’s economic recovery.

We are asking federal parties and candidates for their commitments on these four issues to help us emerge from this pandemic stronger and more primed to realize our potential than ever before. Essex County is counting on them.