Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse is in Washington D.C. this week for meetings with American lawmakers.
Masse will participate in Congressional meetings with Representatives and Senators as part of his role as Vice-Chair of the Canada-United States Inter-Parliamentary Group, and will also participate in other events related to his role as border critic.
Tariffs are sure to be among many of the topics of discussion with Masse telling AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides that he's glad to be in Washington in the days ahead.
"There's opportunity to actually build off of this because it's going to be a little bit chaotic, but let's do some of things that can control," he said. "If some of these don't take place, or they're only temporary, we've only strengthen ourselves by the resources that we're spending as opposed to always chasing targets like fentanyl, the border and so forth."
This week marks Great Lakes Week on Capitol Hill and Masse will deliver opening remarks at Great Lakes Congressional Breakfast on Thursday morning.
He says Canada's ally's need to understand the consequences of water diversion in the Great Lakes.
"The Great Lakes are important for obviously the environmental and also the economy, but they're also a sense of identity for us in this region," Masse said. "We need to make sure that they're not going to get forgotten because they're such a valued asset for all of us."
On Tuesday Mar. 4 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m, Masse will host a telephone town hall from Washington, and says he wants to hear directly from constituents on current issues including tariffs, border security and cross-border relations.
"This is a good opportunity to get the best information to people as it's taking place," he said. "That's why I wanted to make sure I'm accessible. I know that sometimes people can always send in suggestions, but I want to hear back from people, and I also want to report back to people about what's taking place."
Constituents will receive a text or call from Brian Masse inviting them to join the event.
Should they wish to join on their own the call in number is 1-877-229-8493 with passcode: 117277.