MP Irek Kusmierczyk announced the continued funding of the isolation and recovery centre for migrant workers in front of an angry crowd of protestors in Tecumseh Monday morning.
The isolation and recovery centre is located in a hotel in Windsor and can house around 50 people. It offers voluntary isolation space for workers who have tested positive for or been exposed to COVID-19.
"That critical isolation and recovery centre not only saved the lives of migrant workers but it also protected our community by protecting our local health care system from collapse during the worst of the outbreaks by serving as a pressure valve," said Kusmierczyk.
The $4.2 million in funding will allow the centre to stay open until March 2023.
“This funding will help ensure the health and wellbeing of the workers so crucial to our local economy and the production of a stable food supply, and it will help to protect the broader community from the spread of COVID-19. The County of Essex thanks the federal government for its support and continued investments in Windsor-Essex,” said Essex County Warden Gary McNamara.
Kusmierczyk and McNamara made the announcement over the shouts of around 50 people who were unhappy with the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They shouted that the funding was a waste of taxpayer money and that the centre was a violation of the rights of the migrant workers being housed at the facility.
The crowd gathered in front of Tecumseh Town Hall for an announcement by MP Irek Kusmierczyk.