A mixed bag overall, but some good news for the Windsor-Essex region.
Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rakesh Naidu is reacting to the provincial budget unveiled on Tuesday afternoon.
The 2024 budget titled "Building a Better Ontario" contains record spending, with a specific focus on infrastructure and healthcare spending.
Windsor-Essex is mentioned specifically about 19 times in the document.
Naidu says there's one specific thing that the chamber has been really working hard at, and it appears they've scored a victory on it.
"Do away with the import duty on wine, as well as the retail sales tax of 6.1 per cent. The good news that we see in this budget is that the 6.1 per cent retail sales tax, that has been eliminated. So that's something which we are really heartily welcoming."
He says there's quite a few things that the government is having to battle, like inflation and the housing crunch, and there's some credible attempts to deal with those.
The chamber was pleased to see recent infrastructure commitments, along with increased housing funding included in the budget however, according to Naidu.
"We of course know there's funding for a new interchange at EC Row and Banwell, as well as at Lauzon Parkway and the 401, so that's good. We know that there's the housing shortages and they're really trying to solve that by increasing funding for infrastructure that will help in building more housing. So that is something that we welcome."
Naidu says there is a challenge for businesses when it comes to productivity, but they're not alone in that since many OECD countries are also experiencing challenges.
"The government is trying to really bridge that gap and investments in infrastructure, but also specifically like high speed infrastructure where there's about $1.3 billion that is committed. I think those are some really good steps, I would say yes there has been attempts made to solve some of the issues, but there's quite a few challenges ahead."
Naidu says he and other members of the chamber remain very optimistic about Windsor's prospects moving forward despite a high unemployment rate at the moment.
He's confident as construction wraps on major projects in the region in the next few years that new jobs, new investment, and new opportunities will fill the void and keep people busy.
- with files from AM800's The Shift