Shockingly, it can be done. It wasn't even on very much notice.
After questions on this report that he claimed to have been done on an ROI that justified this commitment beyond the fiscal framework, the Minister of Industry referred to a publicly available document, which I had had, written by a policy “think tank”, we'll call it, in Ontario about the theoretical value some decade twenty to thirty years from now of the value of an entire theoretical ecosystem supply chain for EV cars. It wasn't about this deal, as he had led the House to believe. There is no ROI document on this deal with Volkswagen. There is just a theoretical think tank publication on something that says, well, you know, if the stars align, and the fairy dust does this, and the clouds do that, and the earth moves in a certain way, and the government puts in enormous amounts of money that it can't afford in both Ottawa and Ontario, and all that subsidy happens, and we convince all the carmakers to come and create all their stuff here, there might be a 300,000-job impact in Ontario. It sounds impressive. And on the 3,000, somehow the minister created some of that Bill Morneau-Chrystia Freeland math in saying that it somehow translates into 3,000 jobs in this plant in an unknown contract and an unknown ROI.
This mythical report that the minister referred to and led Parliament to believe was done for this deal does not exist.
Let me read again from the ministerial accountability document on open and transparent government that the government put out in its early days, just to remind people of the context of what we're seeking here:
Ministers are responsible to Parliament for the exercise of the powers, duties and functions vested in them.... Ministers must be present in Parliament to respond to questions of the discharge of their responsibilities.
We referred earlier to documents, in this fine report of honest and open government and integrity in answers and truthfulness in answers. Personally, far be it from me to make a claim about the Minister of Industry, but he did say there was a report in the House, on the ROI of this deal, and, by the minister's own admission before a parliamentary committee, that does not exist.
We asked him to table that report. He basically said “It doesn't exist. You can get the public document.” That's all he has, so we're going to be very curious to see the contract on Monday. The minister claims 3,000 direct jobs. I can tell you that in a personal conversation I had with the minister he confirmed to me, when I asked him how many people, the day the plant opens, will be in that plant working, those who punch a timecard, those who are working on any assembly lines there, those who work in management full-time at that plant. I said, “Is it 3,000? Is it less than 3,000? He said “At the plant? Well, yes, less than 3,000.” He said, “It's complicated. You know, it's in the contract and it's very complicated.” I said, “Okay, is it less than 2,000?”
This was outside the washroom. Be careful what you say to people outside the washroom in the House of Commons. He said, “Well, no, it's not less than 2,000.” I said, “Is it less than 1,000 jobs at the plant?” Do you know what the Minister of Industry said? “Yes, it's less than 1,000.”
Question period was starting, and I really had to use the facilities, so I could not ask him if it was less than 500. I could not ask him if it was less than 200. Volkswagen is the most automated car manufacturer in the world. It's hard to believe, no matter how many football fields he claims this thing to be, that there is nothing in there but automation. which taxpayers are paying for, and very few direct jobs. Do you know what? Construction jobs are great. My brother works in construction. I'm sure he'd appreciate one of those fine temporary jobs building this plant, and if the minister wants to let me know, I'm sure my brother could give him a good deal on the construction.
The issue is that those jobs go away when the plant is done. They are not permanent jobs created by a $14-billion investment, so I am hoping that some day we will see a government, in the not-too-distant future, that actually gives answers to the questions when asked and doesn't sort of sprinkle fairy dust around and sort of make it up as they go along. However, because he's a likeable fellow, which he is, we all accept that as a given.
It's our duty, as the official opposition—and it will soon be his duty as the official opposition—to question us when we're in government, and I can assure you that we will be giving better questions and answers to the questions that—