Today, we celebrate Canada’s workers. We celebrate the countless contributions and sacrifices they have made through their labour and volunteerism to building up our community in Windsor-Essex and our country.

It is workers who have carried our communities through the worst periods of the COVID19 pandemic, putting their health and safety on the line day-in-and-day-out to protect the health and well being of our families, keeping our country moving and providing a sense of normalcy.

Today gives us the chance to pause and make an extra effort to think of – and thank – the first responders, the grocery store clerks, the nurses, PSWs and healthcare workers, the workers in manufacturing and construction, our teachers, administration, the migrant and agricultural workers and many, many more:  take a second to think of all the good that comes from their work, their hands, their skills and their commitment.

Today we also salute Canada’s labour movement, and in particular recognize our local labour organizations and our local labour leaders, who continue to fight tirelessly for better wages, workplace safety and equal rights and treatment for all Canadians.  There’s no need to reach deep back into history to recognize their contributions today to shaping policies that are making our country and our community more equitable, more sustainable and more prosperous – whether it is the fight for pharmacare, protections for essential workers during COVID19, affordable housing or better trade deals that protect our manufacturing jobs.

And now, as we move our community and our Canada through COVID19 to recovery, we recognize that more than ever we need to lean on that spirit of Solidarity - that spirit of Solidarity which is the hallmark of our community in Windsor-Essex.

Today, on this beautiful Labour Day - let’s celebrate the workers among us and be generous in sharing our respect and our gratitude.