Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski speaks during an announcement for a new Indigenous women's shelter on Agency One land near Fort Frances, July 2023. Image: Randy Thoms/Acadia Broadcasting
2023 has been a tough year for many Canadians.
Many people struggled with the high cost of living.
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski says government policies are not to be blamed.
“I think the increased cost of living and inflation is a global phenomenon, if anything, driven by increased energy costs, not from the carbon tax, but because of the war in Ukraine and, subsequently, the oil and gas from Russia coming off the market. That, along with problems with supply chains globally where there’s a lot more demand than there is supply. That’s also fueled by a lack of labour, both in Canada and internationally, that all kind of contributed to inflation,” says Powlowski.
The Liberal MP is hopeful.
The cost of living still hovers around 3 per cent, but Powlowski feels that it is heading in the right direction toward a more normal rate of 2 per cent later in the new year.
In the riding, Powlowski feels several federal announcements provided many benefits in 2023.
He points to a number of FedNor grants and loans issued to various communities and organizations and the expansion of the Rural and Northern Immigration Program that extended to include all of northwestern Ontario.
“The rural and northern immigration pilot, which I think is going to become permanent, certainly brought in a lot of people to the area, and I think opened up an avenue for people wanting to find employees when you can’t get anyone locally to work.”
He adds announcements for new subway cars in Toronto and the government’s plans to build smaller-sized coast guard vessels could provide direct benefits to Thunder Bay.
He says area residents also enjoy the new dental program, reduced daycare costs and others.
“There’s all kinds of programs that the government’s been involved in. A lot of them basically aimed at affordability because we do realize that for a lot of people, making ends meet is increasingly difficult given inflation.”
