As part of the effort to tackle climate change, the federal government is making a concerted effort to reduce emissions from the transportation sector.
That's why the government has been focusing for much of the past year on making it easier for Canadians to purchase and drive electric vehicles in Windsor-Essex and across Canada.
Federal labour minister Seamus O'Regan says from investments in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries and more recently towards charging infrastructure, Windsor-Essex is front and center of the efforts.
"We're going to be building the batteries here that power the EVs, and we're going to be building the EVs here. I'm hoping the material that goes into those batteries is going to be Canadian mined as well. The reason why we're here, and the reason why we're investing so much infrastructure here in this area, is because you've got the workers that know what they're doing," he said.
He says we're not going to be playing catch up with the rest of the world, we're going to be leading it.
O'Regan says the government is already hard at work planning on this file because they've committed by 2035 to no longer sell internal combustion vehicles in Canada.
"In the manufacture of batteries, in the manufacture of the EVs, and getting people to start looking at their next purchase. We want them to consider buying an EV, you talk to people and they'll say how far can I drive with it because I don't want to run out. Well, let's answer that question by building the charging stations now so people have a comfort level with it knowing that they see it all around them."
He says these moves and investments are not just being made to lower emissions for climate change.
"This is also about the prosperity of the country and I'd also add to it just makes for cleaner air all around for our cities and our towns. We suffer, I think, too much both our children and ourselves in air quality in some of our cities and towns. This is only going to improve it," O'Regan stated.
As part of EV Week in Canada, O'Regan along with other local officials announced Monday afternoon that 144 charging stations are being installed at 35 locations throughout Windsor-Essex.
- with files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides