THUNDER BAY — The federal Liberals are in a diminished position following Monday's election, but municipal leaders in the Thunder Bay region say it remains urgent for the government to act on the area's pressing issues.
Mayor Bill Mauro has wasted no time seeking a meeting to discuss some of those issues with the city's two Liberal MPs, Patty Hajdu in Thunder Bay-Superior North and Dr. Marcus Powlowski in Thunder Bay-Rainy River.
Mauro said Tuesday morning he had already reached out to them to arrange to get together to discuss the city's wish list in terms of the federal government.
"Things that they can help us on," he said, are topped by the request for infrastructure funding for a multi-use indoor turf facility at Chapples Park.
The mayor also intends to lobby for assistance winning additional contracts for the city's Bombardier plant. He said he's glad to hear that Powlowski has already earmarked Bombardier as a priority as well.
Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association President Wendy Landry said even though they are members of a minority government, "it's nice to see that we have Liberal MPs in our ridings that will be a voice for us."
Landry said NOMA has been lobbying federal representatives for the past four years on the need for things such as broadband and infrastructure funding, "basically just keeping our voices loud to make sure they remember that northwestern Ontario has needs as well."
Other important needs, she said, include support for housing, Indigenous issues such as drinking water problems, addictions programs, and help for police dealing with guns and gangs.
"All these issues ultimately flow into our municipalities," Landry said.
In his victory speech Monday night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised his government "will take guns off our streets."
The lack of funding for dealing with gun-related violence has been a sore point with Mayor Mauro and Thunder Bay Police since August.
It's because Ottawa gave Ontario $65 million to counteract guns and gangs, and human trafficking, but the money was earmarked for initiatives in the Toronto and Ottawa areas.
At the time, Hajdu said the federal government recognized that police forces across Ontario are struggling with these issues, but that "ultimately, policing is a provincial jurisdiction."
She said the feds would look at other ways to help the region, including crime prevention grants.
Mauro said he'll take up the gun issue again with Hajdu and Powlowski at their upcoming meeting.
Charla Robinson, president of the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce, said "it bodes well" for Thunder Bay and the northwest to have two MPs sitting on the governing side, even if it's a minority situation.
"We know they're going to have to work 'across the aisles' more. Still, it is important to have voices from our community," she said, "having those conversations with the ministers and the Prime Minister about our needs."
Robinson added that she hopes the Liberals understand that voters expect them to cooperate with the other parties.
"The strong showing that we saw from both the NDP and the Conservative candidates here should serve as a reminder to our newly-elected MPs that working together is really an expectation of the electorate. They weren't given a massive majority in their ridings," she said.
Robinson said the governing side needs to recognize that there are other views on issues, and to "make sure they are meeting the needs of the citizens here."
