Amid the excitement of announcing the preferred proponent to build the Gordie Howe International Bridge, one detail was not announced; benefits for the community that will host construction on the new span.
Windsor West MP Brian Masse has been fighting to ensure the community benefits fund will go to those who will be most impacted by construction on the new bridge, and Thursday he learned he would have to wait even longer.
He is disappointed the announcement did not even include how much the funding is available for community benefit projects.
"They won't even release that, and that's really the dodgy part of this," said Masse. "We did hear that the proponent [Bridging North America] has now met with some people in the community, but we don't know who they are when they met or what they talked about."
He said his concern is children returning to Brock Public School this fall with major construction gearing up.
"Everybody's getting paid. Everybody's getting a contract. Everything is moving along, and the money is flowing except for the people that have to deal with this on a regular basis and those are primarily the people of Sandwich Towne and the kids that will be returning to Brock school in September," fumed Masse.
"I'm not worried about the community benefits, because I know they were built into the contract that every proponent had to submit," responded Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens. "I think it's just a matter probably a couple of months, September I'm hearing; we'll get the list of what those benefits are."
Dilkens is not worried about what the projects will be either.
"Everything we've done, certainly for years and years, throughout this whole process with heritage conservation districts and fighting with the Ambassador Bridge, has always been about doing what's right for Sandwich Towne," continued the mayor.
