Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me the opportunity to speak before this committee.
As President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc., I am responsible for our manufacturing operations in Ontario. This includes plants in Cambridge and in Woodstock, Ontario.
Since 1988, our Cambridge facility has grown from 50,000 to more than 270,000 vehicles, including the Corolla, the Matrix, and the Lexus RX350. The Woodstock facility opened in 2008 and produced the RAV4. It is the first new automobile assembly plant opened in Canada since the 1980s. I am proud to say that in just six days, on March 22, we will start a second shift, increasing our capacity to more than 150,000 vehicles annually. To support the launch of this second shift, more than 800 new team members have been hired over the last few months. Between our locations, TMMC will be able to produce more than 420,000 units annually. Our direct employment will be almost 7,000 team members. In addition, TMMC does business with more than 78 suppliers in Canada, providing thousands of additional employment opportunities for Canadians.
As approximately 55% of the vehicles we manufacture are exported, we contribute in a major way to improving Canada's balance of trade.
Once again, thank you for this opportunity to appear before the committee.
I will now give the floor to Mr. Beatty, who will talk about the calls. Thank you.