Pre-budget consultations have wrapped up.

The last pubic session was in Dryden last Thursday.

Kiiwetinoong MPP Sol Mamakwa sat in on the session and thinks the finance committee has it’s work cut out.

“We are struggling in the north and we need to bring services closer to home,” suggests Mamakwa.

“It seems like the way we handle homelessness isn’t working.  We’re only keeping them alive longer, not actually getting them out of homelessness. We have a lot of work to do.”

Mamakwa adds that food security is a definite issue across the province, especially here in the north.

“Talking to my colleagues that are on the committee, that’s a similar thing they are hearing all over the province.  Because of where we are, because of where we’re located in northwestern Ontario, it’s more exacerbated because of the cost of transportation.”

Over the next couple of weeks, the finance committee will be writing up their final report on the pre-budget hearings with the actual budget slated for later this spring.