The Windsor-Essex community needs to continue to put pressure on the federal government if it wants to continue to see progress on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, according to Windsor West MP Brian Masse.
Masse, who is the NDP border critic, says he expects to see more happening in 2017.
"You'll see buildings and you'll see development take place on the Canadian side and more land acquisition on the American side," he says. "And you'll see, hopefully, some drawings or some kind of conceptual work come to completion."
Masse says he plans to hold the Liberal government's feet to the fire over the private-public partnership model its chosen for the bridge.
The MP says he believes the building process has been delayed mostly because the government has to continue to try to appeal to the public sector for help.
"[The P3 model] also creates now continued vulnerability to election swings in the United States, political posturing and processing," explains Masse. "So we're going to have to manage that."
He's suggested a design-build model that keeps the bridge 100% in government hands.
Earlier this year, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority announced the bridge would be built by 2022. The original plan had it up and running by 2020.
