Industry and Technology Committee on Nov. 3rd, 2025

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

That's going to impact your agreements with the NextStar plant. Is that correct?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

That's why we're actually starting today the mechanism of dispute settlement, because it is important that we are able to hold the company to account.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

That's understood.

Are you prepared then—

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Charles, do you want to add something?

[Charles Vincent, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Industry Sector, Department of Industry]

Sure. Thank you very much.

What I would highlight is that in all the agreements under the strategic innovation fund there are regular commitments around jobs, around the maintenance of activity. Those are the types of—

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

Thank you.

With my remaining 10 seconds, are you prepared to pull back some of this “up to $15 billion” and the other funding from NextStar if they don't properly equip with the 3,000 workers in Brampton? Do you understand what I'm saying? Are you prepared to make that commitment? Are you going to roll back some NextStar funding?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

We'll make sure that we continue to hold them to the funding they're liable for—period.

[Raquel Dancho, Conservative, Kildonan—St. Paul, MB]

I'm out of time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ben Carr]

Thank you, Ms. Dancho.

Ms. O'Rourke, the floor is yours for six minutes.

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thank you, Chair Carr.

Minister, again, you told us of some background and some next steps, but ultimately, what is it that you want Canadian auto workers and the auto sector to know about the government's firm response to Stellantis on its failure to meet its obligations and about how the government is supporting all auto workers and the auto sector, and just why it's such a vital part of Canada's economy?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Thank you, Dominique. I think it's important for auto workers to understand that we know there's anxiety out there, that they're dealing with unfair tariffs of 25% against the auto industry and that we are at a pivotal moment when we need to fight for every single job. That's why the decision by Stellantis to move production of the Jeep Compass from Brampton to Illinois was completely unacceptable. It was not only against the binding legal obligations to the Government of Canada. It was also happening at a time when there are negotiations ongoing. We thought it was completely unacceptable that the decision was taken. That decision was so important for the rest of the auto sector. That's why it is not a time to do politics. We need to act as one Canadian team because it's the future of the auto sector that is at stake.

That is why I've been in contact with all the CEOs of all the different Canadian companies here and also with the labour unions, and why I'm on speed-dial with Vic Fedeli, the Minister of Economic Development in Ontario. It's the very backbone of the Ontario economy that is at stake. If we don't fight for all these jobs and for the auto industry, it will have an impact, yes, on Ontario, but, as a Quebecker, I very much understand that it will have an impact on the rest of the country.

It is not usual for the Minister of Industry to be working so closely with the labour movement, such as Unifor, because my job is, technically, to work with the private sector and to be there to defend their interests. However, now our interests are completely aligned, because not only are we fighting for the Brampton workers, but we're fighting for the auto parts companies in the sector, all the SMEs and all of the supply chain. It's the future of the auto sector that is at stake. That's the position of the government, and you can count on me to make sure that we fight for these jobs.

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thank you, Minister.

Speaking about jobs, certainly, in the contract that we have regarding NextStar, can you help us understand that the job creation numbers are actually much broader than that? Those are the end-game jobs, but in a contract like that, what does the R and D, construction of these massive factories and the partnerships with SMEs look like? These are sound investments that the government makes in job creation and are, clearly, an important investment in EV batteries.

Can you give us a big picture of what the full build-out really should look like?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Our goal is to make sure that we attract investment into the country, foreign direct investment, so we're in a global fight to attract these jobs. It's not only the Government of Canada working with the Government of Ontario. We're also going against what the U.S. and Europe are trying to do, and other jurisdictions around the world that are willing to put a lot of money on the table to attract these companies.

Meanwhile, the benefits are really important. Last week, we announced the 3,000 jobs at the St. Thomas facility for Volkswagen. We've been working a lot on that because, obviously, it's an important moment for St. Thomas. I think there's an important MP from the Conservatives who is benefiting from all these jobs because it's in his riding, MP Andrew Lawton.

On CTV, the mayor of St. Thomas just mentioned that he hadn't stopped smiling now for days and weeks because those 3,000 direct jobs are really good news, especially in the context of the trade war. Volkswagen will be using Canadian steel and, obviously, things that are impacted because they're linked to sectors that are impacted these days by tariffs. There are, indeed, the 3,000 jobs in St. Thomas, but then there are all the indirect jobs that are in St. Thomas and having an impact. That's up to 9,000 jobs, so it's an entire supply chain that benefits from it.

[Dominique O'Rourke, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Thank you.

Minister, opposition parties, in the previous meeting, were trying to make this about EVs, but the Government of Ontario also provided investments to support Stellantis and other automakers. Does this mean that, regardless of partisan opinion, it's definitely a strategic investment at this time and remains so?

Why are these investments still so critical for Canada?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

They are important because they're creating jobs.

The job of the Minister of Industry in these times is, first, to protect jobs, particularly in the tariffed sectors, including the auto sector, and also to create jobs in the sector, notwithstanding the fact that it's under a lot of pressure because of the trade tensions. When you look at where the global industry is at, it is definitely moving towards electrification; that's just a fact.

I want to make sure that, as a government, we position the Canadian sector at the forefront of innovation and consumer demand and also where the market is going. I'm trying to be very pragmatic and make sure, ultimately, that the investments make sense. That's what we're doing.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ben Carr]

Thank you, Ms. O'Rourke.

Mr. Ste‑Marie, you have the floor for six minutes.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Good morning, Minister and deputy ministers. Thank you for being here.

Ms. Joly, I have a lot of questions about Stellantis, but I'd like to start with what's happening at PACCAR. Can you give us an update on that? What's going on? Is there encouraging news about what's on the horizon?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Of course, Mr. Ste‑Marie.

Clearly, what happened at PACCAR is completely unacceptable, and it happened because of the unjustified American tariffs. That's why we wanted to move quickly to work with the company, the unions and the Government of Quebec. I talked to PACCAR's CEO and to Steve Anctil, the manager of the Sainte‑Thérèse plant. I had visited the plant in the past. It was important to me to protect those jobs.

Mr. Chair, some members are talking a lot at the moment, and it's annoying. Could you please intervene?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ben Carr]

Yes, I was about to.

Colleagues.... This for the entire room, because it's happening in some different areas. We have people who are trying to listen. If you are having conversations, which I can appreciate sometimes need to take place, do that outside, please.

I appreciate that. Thank you.

I've stopped the clock, Monsieur Ste-Marie.

Please continue, Minister.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

Mr. Ste‑Marie, I was saying that we worked with the company and also with the Government of Quebec. I've talked to Quebec's minister of the economy, innovation and energy, Christine Fréchette, a number of times over the past two weeks since the layoffs were announced, and I talked to her about it again yesterday. I've also met with PACCAR union leaders.

The PACCAR plant in Sainte‑Thérèse is the only plant that assembles heavy trucks in Canada. With our buy Canadian policy, our goal is to help companies like PACCAR when Canada makes major purchases. I hope that will also be the case for the Government of Quebec, which can do a lot through Hydro‑Québec and the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec, and for the Government of Ontario and other provincial governments so we can support jobs across the country.

I would be happy to work with the Bloc Québécois on this.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Thank you.

Are there plans to reopen in the short term while the American tariffs remain in effect?

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

The company has told me that it can add 100 workers every time it increases production by 10 trucks per day. That's why buying Canadian will have such a huge impact. We have a market for about 34,000 trucks, but it mostly comes down to government procurement. The more we can work on this issue with them, the more jobs we can bring back. That's why I've also had conversations with Joël Lightbound, the Minister of Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement about prioritizing that kind of procurement.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Okay. Let's hope that the Canadian government contributes by purchasing heavy trucks and vehicles assembled in Sainte‑Thérèse.

Have you or the government looked at the possibility of creating a targeted wage subsidy for those lost jobs to keep people employed? We know that tariffs can't stay at these levels forever and that plants like the PACCAR plant in Quebec are needed.

[Mélanie Joly, Liberal, Ahuntsic-Cartierville, QC]

What we offered that company and all companies affected by tariffs that are having liquidity problems is the work-sharing program through employment insurance. We've increased compensation. We have a lot of flexibility, and we encourage companies to use the program. We've also changed EI eligibility rules so workers can access benefits faster.

My goal is not to have people claim EI. My goal is for them to keep their jobs. I've heard stories like the one about a couple working for PACCAR. They both lost their jobs. EI won't cover their mortgage payments. That's why I feel such an urgent need to take action. I want to work with all the provinces, including Quebec, of course, to make sure the plant gets contracts fast. This is about bringing jobs back to Canada.

The thing is, once a company tells workers they're laid off, those workers won't wait around to see if the company will rehire them. They'll try to find other jobs. This is affecting people with very specific skills in a specific sector, and those skills aren't always easily transferable. Other companies in the region, such as Nova Bus, may need certain skills, but there's a 10% tariff on buses too. We are seeing the repercussions on the entire system, not just in Ontario and Quebec. That's exactly the point I made in my speech.

[Gabriel Ste-Marie, Bloc, Joliette—Manawan, QC]

Thank you for that. That's why I suggested a wage subsidy to hold on to that expertise.

If the auto sector tariffs last a long time, are you and the government worried about the kind of deindustrialization that happened in Detroit?