Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is calling the 2015 federal budget "practical" and highlights $100-million for auto parts manufacturers as a good move for the city.
"It's certainly a relief and it's very refreshing to see that there was a recognition that auto manufacturing and all the related industries are very, very important, certainly for our community," says Dilkens.
Windsor West MP Brian Masse with the NDP says the picture isn't quite so rosey.
"We finally got some support for the parts manufacturing and mold making industry, but they're stealing it from the Auto Innovation Fund, so they're funding it through cuts to other programs," says Masse, adding the working class is the real loser in this budget.
"You look at Michigan for example, who have an auto policy and an auto czar and they have a real commitment to rebuild manufacturing," says Masse. "We just don't have that in this budget. It's just basically 'if we lower taxes, we hope jobs will come.' We just haven't seen that happen and the Ford example is a classic one."
The government grabbed $2-billion from its contingency reserve to help balance the proposed budget which has a projected surplus of $1.4-billion after seven years of deficit spending.
