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Windsor's Inside Pulse
Windsor's Inside Pulse - Windsor West MP Brian Masse guest interview - June 29, 2021
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Foreign
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welcome to a special bonus episode of Windsor's Inside Pulse. Today, Dave Sundin and I are very pleased to be joined by Windsor West MP Brian Massey for a wide ranging discussion on his career in politics, the current term of Parliament, some of the initiatives he has been working on and the next federal election. Brian was just renominated to run for the NDP in Windsor west for the next four federal election, which could happen as early as this fall or as late as the fall of 2023. Given the current minority government, we thought this would be a good opportunity to have him on the show and talk about how things are going. Brian, thank you for joining us.
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C
Oh, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
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B
So, well, let's get right into I guess what's taken up most of the last 18 months, which is Covid, your role as an MP and I guess maybe specifically the the issue with the border which is the federal responsibility locally. So tell us, what's the last 18 months been like? How's that been different than your first 20 or so years in Parliament? And where do things stand as you see it with the border right now?
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C
So the border has been really challenging. It was one of the first meetings I had was with Minister Blair to express concern about the potential impact on the border. And when I meant potential impact, it's not just the trade that was taking place, it was also our frontline workers and our business people that cross on a regular basis for income. And then this, of course, the safety coming back here and to make sure there was going to be some supports for us. And since then it's always been a challenge and still does. So, you know, specifically I've been trying to work really hard on family reunifications. A case came up early with that with regards to a family trying to see each other before the mother passed away. And we were successful on that. But since then it's been really difficult for families and my heart really goes out for them. It's been challenging for tool and die mold making and other businesses that need to get over there to regain contracts and so forth. And then of course, frontline workers, things are better now, but especially before the vaccinations it was really complicated because people were concerned about the spread of COVID back in the community and they were also concerned about the safety and well being of all their neighbors and friends. So I can tell you it's just been a real adventure and I'm pushing for a safe border task force that actually would extend past Covid so that we could work on issue by issue amelioration of border issues similar to what we've had in the past. So it's been something else. But I tell you, I just. I'm so proud of the Windsor Nessus county, because when you think about, you know, we usually have, you know, 40,000 people traversing our vehicles through this area per day. And then all of a sudden we've had to deal with all of this. It's a. It's a big culture shock.
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B
And so I guess I'll ask you then. I mean, if we were to put you in, and I take what you said, which is we should have a task force, but if we were to sort of put you in charge of the decision on the border right now, are you content with the concept of July 5th, July 6th? We start with this sort of gradual reopening and then we see where we're at July 21st. Or would you say open it up at this point with testing at the border? Or what would you do if it was your call to make?
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C
So I would have actually brought in rapid testing a lot quicker. It was one of the things. I even did a press conference with the CBSA union, with Ken Turner. We did the asking for that, especially because they had the kits basically in warehouses. So I would have expanded that for not only just the workers, but also frontline workers and others, and truckers and so forth and other that wanted to come back. Because even though they're not perfect, they're still an indicator. And if people felt better about getting a, you know, a rapid test, then it would certainly be an improvement. I would also have instituted the border task force. The reason being is that family reunifications programs that were done similar to that of Saskatchewan, in Manitoba, where they actually got vaccination for their frontline workers, truckers and essential workers should have been instituted in Ontario to New York and on Michigan as well, too. So those are just some of the things I would have done. And again, I want this to be a living body. I don't want us to abandon it. Because even before COVID say, for example, when Nexus got screwed up or there was some type of problem with one of the can pass or another program, we would actually have working groups that could actually ameliorate the problem. So just in general, I'd rather just instead of having a blanket no. That we would actually be working on picking off some of the best, safest possibilities for keeping people united. And that's really where I think I differentiate between myself and the government. And we'll see what happens. But I really believe that when we have people with vaccination now on both sides, we need to do better about how to actually reunify some of our economy families, of course, but in a safe way. And that's against why I would bring in a public eye on this as opposed to being a cabinet or prime minister's decision alone. It would be a working group that would be open because that's the way I believe there'd be better trust.
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A
Yeah. So my understanding is now with new rules coming in, it's going to be you got to get a negative test before you come back to the country. And not even utilizing the rapid test is, you know, any indication as to why that is or what can be done to convince the CBSA to, or the federal government or whoever's making the call on this one to simply utilize the rapid test to make the flow of people across the border that much easier once we reopen.
- [05:21]
C
They've just been really apprehensive to put in any type of a different policy. I think it comes from the Premier Ford being very critical about the border, and I think he's confused some of the air border with the land border. And I think we need to differentiate that right here is because, you know, what we've seen in our community is, you know, but you could actually, if you're wealthy, you could actually go up to Toronto, fly into the United States and then fly, fly back and, you know, avoid some of the restrictions that have been taking place with the land border. You can't do that. So I would call for immediately that we would have the same kind of conditions of flying on the land border, you know, that they have on the air passenger border right now. And it really lies down to the prime minister and cabinet. And again, that's where I think that bringing in other groups and organizations like we have an amazing just in time delivery and so forth with regards to logistics. Those are natural assets, but if you're not getting them to the right people, then I'm not sure they understand how we view the border as a safe operation versus that of a risky operation, which has been painted at some respects.
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B
So beyond the border issues that I take it you've been dealing with since day one on this. How else has Covid changed things for you and your job over the last 16 months?
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C
Oh, that's no terrific. A lot. We used to fly crazily back and forth to Ottawa. Now it's been like a kind of a small group of each party representing with the virtual parliament which has been amazing and I want to say our tech people are just been absolutely incredible. We have a new voting app where we use face recognition to actually identify our votes and we can do so from basically anywhere outside of Parliament. And there's a good recording process for us as well too. So it took a while to get this stuff going off the ground. But we again, we were briefly in Parliament and I feel bad for the MPs and also the pages that never really got a good taste of the Ottawa. It is a logic free zone and it takes every party to keep it that way. But it is also one where you get a chance to make friends, work on projects together and then experience things differently. And so we've moved to a virtual setting, which was very good in many respects because we went from nothing to having something. And we've done some great reports at committee. There's been obviously the political battles that you've seen on the headlines, but there's also been some new friendships made. So these are the things that I think that bind the country stronger together. But it's just been a little bit different. And I'm lucky enough to have experienced both, which I know again, some of my colleagues haven't had that and I feel a little bit bad for them for that aspect. And same with again, I mentioned the pages because it's often exciting to see the next generation of people getting a taste for good or for bad. And the drama and the not so much drama and the fake drama of our democracy, which is part of the recipe of, I think, a healthy open society.
- [08:12]
A
Good. Well, hopefully we're back in Parliament, not due to some future, but glad to hear that things have worked out in some ways thanks to technology. So, speaking of technology, because of an issue that you've raised over and over again, it looks like the Caesars of Windsor might benefit from some new technology and single sports betting soon. So can you tell us a little
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B
bit about,
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A
you know, what you've done to get the Single Sports Betting Bill before Parliament and how you worked with others to get this done? I know this has been a big item for you for a number of years now.
- [08:49]
C
Yeah. So it's Bill C218. Long story short, this used to be a bill from Joe Kumartin and it was passed unanimously in the House of Commons, went to the Senate and it languished there forever and then eventually died. I retabled it in subsequent parliaments and got one to a vote and it lost. But at that time when it lost, we were turning the page from professional sports being against it. Things were changing and then eventually, which we knew was going to happen, which is sad because if we got this in the early stages, we would have been ahead of the U.S. but the new Jersey lawsuit basically struck down the monopoly that Nevada had. When you think about Nevada's monopoly on single sports, it came from basically the crime syndicates. I mean, that's where it came from. And they were benefiting from it. So we knew they were going to eventually lose that. Now it's actually past the House of Commons. I had introduced it again, but I actually got approached by a Conservative, Kevin Waugh from Saskatoon, a former sports broadcaster and hockey player. And he asked if he could have the bill. So I rescinded my bill and then we worked on it together and he had a higher number. So ironically, getting picked for private members business is a lottery. I got really bad number this time. It was horrible, like 200 and whatever. I don't even know what it was. He had number seven. So we went with that and we worked with everybody, including of course the Liberals. The Prime Minister voted for it. We worked with the Conservatives, most of them voted for it. The ndp, this is part of our party policy, so there's no problem there. The block came on side because it was basically, we're giving the provinces jurisdiction for products and so we're just waiting for the final chapter. And it means hundreds of dollars, hundreds of jobs at the casino, but also it protects jobs because the Americans already, as you know, New York City, Michigan, New York State, sorry. And Michigan have already advanced on this and so we're at a disadvantage. So we don't want to lose those jobs. And lastly, sorry to go on for a bit. It takes money away from organized crime and offshore accounts and puts it towards the public good. And we also have money going to the treasury for that. So those are all the reasons why it made sense.
- [10:52]
A
Yeah, I think that same argument is made with the legalization of marijuana. Basically, if you have marijuana takes the money from organized crime, it's going to happen regardless. So let's happen in a environment we can control.
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C
That's a great analogy. And it's, you know, it's appropriate one. And you're never going to get rid of all of the market. But what we can do is we can stream the people that do want to not criminalize those people. So perfect example, good example.
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B
And so just in terms of the status, my understanding is it's now passed three readings in the House and the Senate and it's just waiting for the, the acting Governor General, who I guess is the Chief justice, to sign and then we're good to go.
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C
Almost there. We just need the Prime Minister's signature, which could have taken place. We're just waiting for that to happen. And then it goes to. You're right, that's the next stage. And so there are a couple other bills in the Senate. So sometimes they link them together and then they dump them on the Prime Minister's desk or he might do it off one, you know, but it's not unusual for it to be done together.
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B
And then I guess the proverbial ball, since we're talking about betting, is in the province's court to pass their laws and their regulations for that actual gambling to occur at our casinos.
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C
That is correct. And it just requires regulation. And we've already had Lisa Gretzky write a letter to support the Premier as well as our colleagues here as well. And I know that they've been interested in this and they will decide on whether they want to roll it out through the olg, the Ontario Lottery Gaming Commission, or whether or not they want to work with sports books. So it just depends on their strategy. But the hope is that by Labor Day that the casino will be operating with some type of sports betting and then there'll be other products offered to the public. And again, it just, it's going to be their style. Each province gets to choose what they want to do and what they don't want to do. That's the beauty of the legislation. And if there's issues, they can pull products off the shelf, so to speak, or they can add them depending upon the market.
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B
Well, as somebody who has literally gone to Vegas to, to sit in the sports book for football weekends, I'm really looking forward to the ability to go to Caesars Windsor and have this sort of sports bar atmosphere watching the football game. So I congratulate you for a long fought win on this and congratulations. It's going to be exciting. I hope we'll see you at the Sportsbook in the fall with the casino back open hopefully.
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C
Yeah, absolutely. No, and just I've been across the country on this and it is exciting. We have to deal with some serious issues with it, but it is exciting because also is social. So that one game bet you want to do is sometimes just a fun social bet you'll do with people.
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B
So any other things this term that you've been working on or any other accomplishments this term that you want to tell us about?
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C
Well, I'm excited about. I Won't touch on. There was National Urban Park. I'll talk on that maybe a little bit later. But I do want to point one out that I think that got one a little bit under the radar a bit. What I'm really proud about was the first ever parliamentary report through our industry committee on fraud. And it's one of those things that I've been pushing hard because a lot of, through immigration services or through the phone solicitation, the texting and all the different things that we have, we have a lot of people that are prone to fraud and this is not uncommon. And people feel, they feel, I guess, shy about reporting it or they feel disgraced. And what it is, is organized crime. And so we actually, and my chair, Sherry Roman Aldo, she did an excellent job. Administrative committee, we had a unanimous report and the first ever tabling of recommendations. And the government did respond with some good action. We're hoping for some more on this issue because so many people are taken advantage of. People were literally going down to gas stations and to department stores, sorry, convenience stores, to get gift cards because they're tricked into thinking that this is the things that they should be doing. And it happens. And then people feel ashamed. They pick on seniors, persons with disabilities, new Canadians, people with language issues. And it's significant. So that's been done. And it was the first ever one that we got. It's been something I've been after for a long time and it falls under the radar screen a lot of the time. It did get some good coverage a little bit, but I'm really proud about that because it was done with all parties together, pass unanimously. And it was really good because we had, again with all the different parties together, a strong report and hopefully it's going to get some measurements results.
- [15:19]
A
Okay. You've also been in the, I guess more, more local issue as opposed to a national issue. You've been in the news quite a bit over this national urban park. Can you tell our, our listeners what, what that's what that's about and what kind of response you're getting in Ottawa to that?
- [15:35]
C
That's super exciting. And even just, you know, it's breaking some new news, new news on it. So this is about uniting property from Ojibwe shores. This is basically lands just west of the Gordie Howe bridge that has 130 endangered species. It's owned by the Port Authority. And so we want to unite that land to Black Oak Heritage park, the Spring Garden, Nancy, the Ojibway Prairie Complex and the Tall Grass prairie complex to create a national urban park. They have one already called the Rouge. And it was mentioned in the speech from the throne national urban Parks. And so we've been pushing this, it goes back seven, eight years to protect Ojibwe shores from being clear cut to today where I want the port. It's, you know, as a crown corporation, they've wanted the city to actually spend millions of dollars to buy other property for it. And I've said that's inappropriate. We should be transferring it for a dollar. I was on city council when we to save Pesh island, we had to pay $1.3 million just to save Pesh Island. And it was a provincial park. It was ludicrous that we had to buy a provincial park instead of actually being trans. You had one taxpayer paying the other taxpayer. And so that's not fair for city residents. So the city council recently adopted unanimously the support the position that I had, which was amazing. And I give them credit. And so even just yesterday, there was meetings and there'll be more stories because it's gotten out there that they're really serious on this. And there's meetings going on right now for it to actually take place with the government agency. So this could actually mean a lot of money for area jobs and of course, the ecological protection, which is incredible because it's a hotspot for endangered species and a connecting spot for Rondo, Point Pele, Algonquin, a whole series of others.
- [17:15]
B
So I find this to be very exciting and a great idea. I know I love walking in those areas, but the devil's always in the details. So just a couple of questions. Do you envision if this becomes a national park? Of course. For most national parks, you pay a fee to go to. So Point Pele, you'd pay a fee. Am I going to have to pay a fee if I want to go walk in the spring garden, Nancy, or how would that work?
- [17:36]
C
It doesn't have to work that way. So the Rouge doesn't actually have that as a process. And so it really becomes a unique feature way of putting the lands together. And kind of what's interesting is so the Rouge park itself is special single legislation. And so the government never really created legislation to do national urban parks, but they've said it in the speech from the throne, they put money aside for them. So they're doing land use agreements to assemble them first and then go from there. So right now, and it's a great point that you make. I worked to get the bike lane on the Gordie Howe Bridge. Like, it's funny because I'm looking at these bills like the sports betting bill. My first public meeting for the Gordie Howe Bridge, which is now the Gordy, was 1998 at Marlboro Public School with Ron Jones, Gary Smith and John Toffelmaier. At any rate, we're going to have. The reason it's important is that right next to it is a new bike lane and a crossing. And to credit to the government, they're not going to charge for that. So it would be consistent to not do that because it'll be good for tourism. Post Covid, the Detroit slow roll and other biking is huge in Detroit. And so we have an opportunity to connect them. And I'm really proud that most recently the Canadian trail system is interested in this, has adopted this as part of their repertoire of things they want to expand. So I don't envision a payment for that, but what it does is do is open the door for funding for all kinds of species protection and things that the city can't do, including infrastructure, road projects, programming like the CAMP programs, or even trails and all kinds of different things that could take place related to these.
- [19:11]
B
And so then just to dig a little bit deeper into that, I think I follow city politics relatively closely. And so I think of two issues where the city has big cost liabilities. One is they're looking at that overpass to go over Ojibwe to connect, I guess what would be black oak and Ojibwe, and that's gonna cost 7 or 10 million bucks. And then the other thing is at Spring Garden, the city still faces this liability for the expropriation that happened. I don't know if you were on city council way back when, but that's a big liability for the city that ultimately would be lands that would be transferred to this national urban park. So do you see the feds as part of a national urban park, sort of picking up the bill for either of those.
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C
So the first one, with regards to the crossover for the wildlife, and that's a great example why we need national urban park is because the wildlife and the species we have are actually important not only just for this region, but also across North America and the planet. So they're important for that. And that's way too much for the city to be able to deal with, because especially the consequences and the significance of them are global in scope. So that's where a national urban park would be able to develop a program to build those things and features and it can be done over five years, over 10 years. The Rouge is built over a series of different places. The Spring Garden, Nancy, that's an interesting one. I'm not sure how it's going to be dealt with. And yes, I was on council at that time and I voted in favor of the expropriation. We had our legal advice at the time was that we were safe to do so and we were able to do that all within the context. And I don't have the background details as what's taken place as to why some of that has not followed through as the way it was. In fact, I worked to. We got voluntary agreements from a number of private people to actually sell their properties, to expand it because we only kept the smallest footprint really what you could do to protect the species at risk there. So I'm not so sure what would happen with the fate of that and, but it's again, you know, with the burden of trying to protect the species for the city and manage those entire properties would be a national responsibility versus out of a local taxpayer responsibility. So it should be. And this is about really at the end of the day creating our own point Pele in the city of Windsor. That's, you know, it may be a different shade of that, but it's, it's about getting there at the end of the day.
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B
Well, Dave and I always like when legal fights have gone on for 20 years because it means lawyers are making money. So, so that's a good thing by our book, but not necessarily for the residents in the city.
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C
So yeah, yeah, we got some support too. Like the Conservation Authority Fund threw in some money for purchasing the property. So did the Conservancy of Canada. So it wasn't like just a local decision about how to proceed. It really was one that was robust in nature and included money and support to purchase the properties from well beyond Windsor. So, you know, we forget about those aspects of history, but they did take place and they were contributions to protect this. I used to work there. I used to work the association for Persons with Physical Disorders. So I was right in there all the time. And you know, unfortunately, I mean, or too fortunate, whatever, I mean, I'll let the legal system speak for itself, but our advice was that we were, we were on good grounds to proceed and things have changed obviously since then and that is our justice system, so be it.
- [22:24]
A
I think it was, I still think it was a right decision long term to protect land. So, you know, kudos to the city for doing it and so be it. It'll work itself out eventually. So, you know, obviously you've been in politics a long time, both as a counselor and, you know, almost 20 years or going on 20 years as an MP. So can you tell us what's changed in the past 20 plus years as being an MP and being a politician in general?
- [22:47]
C
Yeah. So, I mean, the social media is one of the biggest things that's changed. There's no doubt. Before we had regular blackberries and now, you know, you're using your iPhones, you're on Instagram, you're on Twitter, you're on Facebook. All of those repertoire of things that you need to communicate for. And there's some good about it. There's also some challenges. There's now, you know, like this, a great podcast, you know, with regards to how to communicate. And that's exciting because it's no longer just the voice of a mainstream media. You're able to get to different platforms and that's kind of fun. And it's also, it's about how ingenuity takes place. So I've always found that as part of an exciting part of the job for myself, you know, I'm lucky to have like strong staff and constituency service is really challenging. The government services that have been cancelled over the years and access to them. I'll give you an example. We used to have a contact for the Canadian Revenue Agency where we could call up on individual casework. We can't do that anymore. So for small businesses and for people with tax problems, we're fighting, you know, basically the 1-800 numbers that everybody else is. And so there's a real issue with regards to serving the public, especially as we've changed that. And of course, in Parliament itself. Yeah, I mean, there used to be the rain Parliament building. Now we're in west block, a temporary one. So I think when I was there, they were still allowing smoking when I first got there and now there was ashtrays that are behind the curtains and now. And I was like, what the heck is going on? And you know, because I came from a municipality that had been kind of progressive on, you know, indoor smoking. And I got up there and it's like, wow, this place is really interesting. But any rate, so I think that Parliament is still a work in progress. I'm glad that we are restoring the buildings because I've traveled enough as the positions that I've taken as parliamentary associations to realize how fragile our democracy can be. And I'm really, you know, despite our flaws, I still think there's a lot of value in it. But I would say that it's. The constituency work is in the volume, especially in COVID 19 and it's been unbelievable. Like we're close to the public, our offices and thank goodness because mine's flooded and have all kinds of issues. But at any rate, it's hard because we don't see the faces that we'd love to see, but we still want to do the work and the supports and the volume of work has been overwhelming. We had hundreds of emails, calls and inquiries a day and there's just a few of us.
- [25:19]
B
So, Brian, when I look back at the 20 years that you've spent in politics, I always, I just generally think of you as a very likable and friendly person. And even for people who don't agree with your political ideology and the NDP positions, I look at you as somebody who is generally likable, sort of avoids the culture wars, things like that. Is that something that you make an effort on? Is that something that just sort of comes naturally to you? How, how have you sort of developed your approach to politics?
- [25:50]
C
Well, I think and appreciate that. I think the first thing is I never assume the decision that I make is the right decision. I think make a decision with conviction and I'm willing to compromise, but not my compromise my principles. But I also understand that if somebody has a differing opinion, I try to respect that and then try to sense out where we have common ground on things to try to do some bridging. I just kind of like doing that. I mean, I used to work as an employment specialist for persons with disabilities and. And you always tried to find the ways that somebody could find a job. And then I would go on site with the job and find out, you know, adjust or shift the job if there were some parts that weren't there but to show value, that there's, you know, there's some change that could take place and it would benefit everybody and. But I mean, I get into my fights and I get into. I know people call it passion, some people call it yelling, I don't know, but it's not really that. But I just keep it to issue by issue. I really try to respect that and I really respect again that I'm, you know, I try to do what I can for my constituents and. But I go issue by issue based and I'm also, again, most of almost all the ideas that we've been working on and speaking about here today have come from the residents of Windsor West. You know, they don't they're not from me. And do a lot of door knocking and we read a lot of emails and we try to do our best to represent the riding that way and it's exciting that way. So it's not again, even the National Urban Park. It's, you know, it's the movement of it. It's not about me at the end of the day. It's really about, like, how do we get more people engaged. And once we get that idea, let other people take ownership of it and drive it nice.
- [27:24]
A
Okay, well, there'll be an election coming up in the probably not too distant future, sometime between this fall and fall of 2023. I think everyone's thinking it'd probably be this fall or maybe even over the winter. So your likability might come into play there. Again, free purposes. But when do you expect the election to be and when do you want it to be?
- [27:49]
C
So that's a great. So I expect that they might call it sooner rather than later, but I've always been someone that thought they would call it in the fall, even going back with the speculation last time. But you know what, we're prepared and ready to go when we need to go. But I'm looking at taking advantage of the opportunities right now to get stuff done and just kind of working on those things. So I tabled, even though we got the sports betting bill going that finished, I tabled three more bills. One on tax charities for another one on animal welfare and cruelty related to consumer awareness about dog and cat fur and consumer protection, and another bill. So, you know, we're just going to keep pushing along on that and other issues. Auto is always a huge issue too, so really been working hard at getting some more attention to automotive stuff. General Motors had another big announcement today. That one's actually a good one for us because they're advancing electric vehicles in Canada, not in Windsor, but I mean, it still is good for everybody other than that. But that's generally what is it, when do I want it to be? I mean, this parliament, as long as we can find ways to work together. And I think there is more that we can work together than we're actually against each other. I'd rather see it extended. To be quite frank, I really like working with Jagmeet Singh and the party and we're ready and I feel really confident about we're in a growth mode and a lot of young Canadians are really gravitating. But at the same time, you know, if we can get some stuff done and I didn't want to lecture during COVID And I mean, quite frankly, the government has some initiatives I think we can help improve them on and they have some good ideas that we want to see them get done. And we've given them credit for that when they did them and we're trying to give them heck when we think otherwise. And we're not saying we're always right, but that's kind of our job and find that, you know, middle ground and do that little boxing match and that's fine. I mean, but let's get stuff done.
- [29:36]
B
Alrighty. And yeah, I guess, you know, this is something that we talk about on the show all the time. I know six months ago I said, well the election won't be until after October 19th or whatever because that's that 16 or 6 year pension vesting mark. And ironically that was a bit in the news this past week. So I know we're watching for that. I guess for you, your pension vested 14 years ago, so different story in that game. But any, any other thoughts for us? Anything else you want to share with our listeners?
- [30:07]
C
Well, just that it is important. I'm glad you're doing the show and thank you for doing it like I know you do, municipal and other levels. I think it's important for our democracy. It is, you know, something that is challenging at times. I know that everybody has a busy life and that. But it is important that we protect it the best that we can. And again, you know, this is something that for myself it was an accident and it really is the House of Commons, when I joked earlier, I said it, you know, it takes all of us to make it a logic free zone. It's because it's pretty complicated with a country like Canada. When we think about the geography and the types of people we have. And I'll just finish with this is that I just hope, especially given that what's taken place with our indigenous populations and the unearthing of the graves and that that we all can unify to not only just do the proper things in terms of expressing remorse and regret, but doing the proper things to actually justice to this. And that means issues over land claims. This means issues over recognition of past practices and who's responsible and so forth. We need to do a really, really thorough approach to this because that's the only way we get through it together. And that's one thing I'm hoping that we can find some more unity on because it's just part of our, you know, we have to admit this is part of our history, and it's part of who we are. And it's not. But it's not done yet. We're still living it. And so I'm just hopeful that all Canadians can unite to get to the final parts of the things we need to do on that. But I'm grateful for the opportunity to be here today.
- [31:38]
B
Yeah, I think that's very well said. Well, I'd like to thank Windsor West MP Brian Massey for joining us on Windsor's Inside Pulse. Please remember to like us on Facebook and subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app for more great episodes and bonus interviews like this one. Until next time, stay safe, everyone.