The premier of Ontario will head back to Toronto with lots of input from Windsor-Essex after his whirlwind trip to the area.
Premier Doug Ford toured the region on Thursday and made several stops, including spending the afternoon meeting with 10 regional mayors to discuss economic recovery.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said the meeting was also a chance to thank Ford for the work he's done throughout the pandemic.
According to the Dilkens, a variety of topics and concerns were discussed including the building of the new mega-hospital in Windsor-Essex.
"[It was] to also reinforce some of the important issues that I know we all can agree to, whether you live in the city or the county. That, of course, is the need for a new hospital and the need to move that process forward," said Dilkens.
According to Dilkens, Ford is receptive to the idea of the new hospital but recognizes that there are some big hurdles to overcome.
"He understands very well how important this project is to Windsor-Essex. He also knows and told us that it's going to be a lot easier if there was someone banging the table in government to help the project move forward," Dilkens explained. "What we're hoping to do is get enough money to move on to the next phase. We know that the $2 billion ask is going to be an extremely large effort. We need to get someone at the table who can help us there but he understands from each and every mayor in the room today how important this project is."
Dilkens said that flood mitigation was also a hot button issue that was brought up during the meeting.
Ford's visit came one day after Windsor-Essex joined the rest of the province in Stage 3 of reopening the economy. Dilkens said now that the region has entered the third stage, he's remaining cautiously optimistic.
"It's going in the right direction. I think you just feel the vibe in the community that people are excited to get back to work. Some are a little cautious and rightfully so," said Dilkens. "Things will happen over time as school goes back in and parents are able to send their kids to school. There'll be a new normal that develops but of course it's great to have the economy up and rolling, getting to Stage 3 was an important part of that."
The premier's visit also included a stop at Ford Essex Engine Plant in east Windsor. The plant was retooled to make face shields for frontline workers working during the pandemic.
"They're making great Ontario made engines but also thousands of Ontario made face shields," said Ford. "It's incredible."
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In addition to his stop at the engine plant, Ford spent some time with members of the local Lebanese community to show his government’s support following the deadly explosion at Beirut’s main port on August 4.
Ford wrapped up his trip to Windsor-Essex with a press conference Thursday afternoon at a local Public Works facility.
Ford, along with Associate Minister of Transportation Kinga Surma and Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton announced $30 million in funding to municipalities through the 2021-2022 Connecting Links Program.
The money will go towards building, replacing, or repairing local roads and bridges.
"$30 million is going to go a long way," said Ford. "But, it's not just about improving our roads or making them safer. These projects will create good jobs and ensure businesses can get their goods to market and get people to work on time and home sooner."
The Connecting Links Program provides funding to eligible municipalities of up to 90 per cent of eligible project costs, up to a maximum of $3 million for road projects.
The province also announced that it will be permanently raising the maximum amount of available funding for bridge projects from $3 million to $5 million to reflect the higher costs of maintaining and repairing bridges compared to roads.
There are 77 municipalities eligible to apply for provincial funding through the Connecting Links Program. Municipalities have until November 6 to apply for the program online.
Windsor has twice successfully won grants to fund improvements on Huron Church Road, and plans to apply for funding to help pay for the third phase.
To cap off his trip to the region, Ford stopped in Chatham to visit the Chatham Children’s Treatment Centre to meet with frontline staff.