Well, it's guaranteed. None of us ever get it right. There's someone else, somewhere else, doing it a lot better, whether you're an MP, a mayor or an MPP.
I can't fathom what is going on in the governor's mansion in Lansing. None of my letters have been responded to. I understand—I'm a mayor from a border city—but the Premier of Ontario calls and they won't speak. I believe the federal government has issues in trying to connect directly. That's what's so puzzling. All of us deal with people that maybe we sometimes don't want to deal with. We all deal with people that we disagree with. But we listen. As far as I know, the governor has not had....
There was apparently one side conversation about the Gordie Howe bridge with the transport minister. It was apparently very brief. Other than that, no one has been able to get to speak to the governor. You really wonder, then, about the logic of the argument if you're not willing to confront the people who do have a different point of view. I understand, too, that the consul general in Detroit has had the same sort of shutdown of access.
Going back to what I said during my remarks, does the governor not understand the damage to the ongoing relationship, whether it be the agriculture community or whether it be tourism? There's a border city relationship. I've been meeting with the Ontario border city mayors for the last year, obviously. We've been working with the federal government and talking to them about a long-term sectional reopening plan. How does that factor in when you have a governor in a state that has had horrendous increases in COVID in the last little while who won't even talk to you on another issue? That's what bothers me.
I can tell you that I've always thought highly of the governor. When she ran, I was very impressed with her skills and her ability to communicate to people. I don't think what is happening with this “I'm just not going to talk to anyone” is serving the people of Michigan very well.