I hear noise from the member from Halifax-Holt Renfrew. I could put Windsor up against Halifax any time.
Windsor has a tremendous industrial base which has brought us out of the recession ahead of many other communities. The big three in the auto industry, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler, have provided us with a stable base of jobs over the last little while. The products we produce in Windsor, ancillary to and which feed the auto industry, have resulted in a tremendous tool and die industry and a tremendous mould industry which now exports a large percentage of its products.
In addition to the big three other industries thrive in Windsor. Our newest, the Northern Belle Riverboat Casino, which opened
yesterday morning as an extra venue, has been a tremendous boon to us and a real jump start for the diversification of our economy.
Windsor used to be a pass through on the way to the rest of Canada. It is the biggest border crossing in North America. People would nod at Windsor and keep going. Now Windsor is a destination. This means a lot of change in the way we do business, change in the other kinds of attractions that many creative entrepreneurs in Windsor are developing, and change in many aspects of the hospitality industry.
The casino is worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Ontario and millions to the federal government as well. To put it in perspective, the casino attracts a minimum of 17,000 people a day to our city. Of those 17,000, roughly 80 per cent to 85 per cent come from the United States. That is offshore money coming to Canada, being spent in Canada and employing thousands of well paid union workers, all of whom are paying income tax, property tax, provincial sales tax and GST to government coffers. Funds are being generated for all three levels of government in order to reduce deficits and in order to give all three levels of government another source of revenue.
In terms of the casino and its operation in Windsor I cannot urge strongly enough upon the Minister of Finance and the government to stay away from the impulse to tax the proceeds of casino gambling. This is foreign money coming into the country. Essentially we have discovered a way to tax Americans. We have to stick with it and keep this money here and keep those people coming to the biggest single tourist destination in North America.
Another industry in Windsor that needs looking at by our government is the distillery industry. Within the city of Windsor, in the township of Maidstone in the riding of Essex-Windsor, and in the town of Amherstburg, also in Essex-Windsor, we have two distilleries. Hiram Walker operates a plant in my riding of Windsor-St. Clair, which used to be called Windsor-Walkerville after Mr. Walker. It operates a storage area in Maidstone township where it is the biggest municipal taxpayer.
The Seagram company operates a distillery in Amherstburg. The beverage alcohol industry produces hundred and hundreds of jobs in our communities. Yet this is a commodity which is so heavily taxed by provincial government and to a certain extent by the federal government that it is not operating any more on a level playing field with other forms of beverage alcohol such as beer and wine.
In addition, because the taxation level is so high, the problem of smuggling has increased in terms of beverage alcohol, particularly in terms of distilled spirits. The federal government needs to take a hard look at this, as do all the provincial governments, in an effort to reduce crime, in an effort to increase revenues from excise tax by actually being able to collect it, and to equalizing the playing field among all forms of spirits so they can compete adequately.
Another major employer in the city of Windsor that could use a look at by our government is our university. The University of Windsor is a major employer in our community, again employing hundred and hundreds of people. It is a major contributor to the skills level in our community. Our community, fast becoming a place of high tech industry, requires high tech jobs.
The university has worked in partnership with the federal and provincial government and with private industry to produce research and development facilities and to produce good, well trained employees in order to benefit and promote the economy of not only our community but of the entire country.
Small business in Windsor has always been entrepreneurial. It has been exciting and forward looking. It employs thousands and thousands of people. I urge my colleagues in the government to take a hard look at what we can do for these types of industries, for these types of workplaces, for these creators of jobs.
The city of Windsor, the town of Tecumseh and the village of St. Clair Beach, all of which are in my riding, are successful right now. They are not selfish places. We are not a community that begrudges help to other communities. We are vitally interested in the unity of the country, vitally interested in the well-being of the entire country, every province, every region from sea to sea.
We are not perfect. We need help. We are concerned about social problems, as are other Canadians. I will outline a few of those.
Windsor, like every other community in Canada, needs help with child care. We all need to move forward in this area. Child care needs to be a part of the basic social fabric of the country. Single mothers are out of work. Child care would allow them the opportunity to get training and to get back to work while they know their children are in a safe and healthy environment.
It takes the activity of government to do that. Unfortunately in Ontario we do not have a provincial government which will do that now. However, we do have a forward thinking federal government which made some announcements yesterday that should help this situation. I hope the budget will also stress the need for child care.
Windsor has always had a tremendous record in terms of charity and in terms of charitable giving. Windsor likes to share its good fortune with others. However, Windsor lives in the shadow of the United States. Perhaps the most stunning landscape for visitors to Windsor is the city of Detroit which looms on our horizon.
It is important as we consider the broadcast industry over the next year in Canada to remember that communities like Windsor will suffer if we do not take good care of both private and public broadcasting.
These are a few things which concern my constituents. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to bring these concerns to the attention of the government.