The Ontario Liberal Party's finance critic is calling on the PC government to fund Sarnia-Lambton's oversize load corridor in this year's budget.
In Sarnia Wednesday, for pre-budget consultations, Mitzie Hunter said she fully supports the long-planned project.
"Sarnia has a uniqueness in large scale fabrication that is tied to the industrial base that is located here," said Hunter. "That reflects the skill sets, the labour supply, the boiler makers, tool and die makers, all the fabricators, pipefitters... all of that is a capacity that we have in Sarnia that we should be building on and capitalizing on."
The MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood said the corridor, which would expedite the movement of large modules between Sarnia's metal fabrication shops and Sarnia Harbour, will unlock the potential of those industries, connecting them to new markets, including overseas.
"I believe the work that is underway to really talk about how this connects with the broader vision of strengthening Sarnia's economic development, that the provincial government and the federal government will see the potential and support this project," said Hunter. "It's something that I am going to be taking back to my colleagues at Queens Park."
During a visit to the Sarnia area last November, Premier Doug Ford spoke in favour of finding infrastructure funding for the $12 million corridor.
Local governments and an industry coalition have already committed half of the estimated cost, subject to senior government support.
The federal government has refused to commit funding so far.