Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to speak to the motion introduced by the Bloc on the subject of the General Motors vehicle assembly plant in Sainte-Thérèse, Quebec.
I must say that the Government of Canada certainly shares the concerns of the opposition about the people affected by the closing of this plant.
As members may know, the closing was announced by GM last September, and it was scheduled to take place in September 2002. The reasons given by GM were as follows: overcapacity in the industry, and a decrease in sales of cars assembled in Sainte-Thérèse.
The Government of Canada has worked closely with the parties in order to find a way to keep the plant open.
With other partners, we supported the work of the Comité de soutien à l'industrie automobile dans les Basses-Laurentides. This is a working group of which the members of the opposition have surely heard about, since it is made up of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, business people from the region, and representatives of the Quebec government, the Parti Quebecois and the Bloc Quebecois.
In fact, the Government of Canada, through EDC and in conjunction with the Government of Quebec, has provided the necessary financial assistance for the committee's studies and other activities. Canadian government officials worked with the committee.
The committee, with the active participation of the Government of Canada, submitted numerous proposals to GM for the plant's survival. In particular, it proposed that it be used for the assembly of specialized vehicles, reconditioning and other operations related to the auto industry. There were frequent meetings between my departmental staff and GM representatives, and on each occasion they argued in favour of keeping the plant open.
My predecessors headed delegations to GM headquarters in Detroit, along with the present Premier of Quebec, in order to urge GM to do everything possible to keep this plant open.
Since taking over this portfolio last January, I myself have held lengthy discussions with Michael Grimaldi, the President of GM, concerning the possibility of using the Boisbriand plant for a new model. So far, despite the efforts by all those involved, we have not yet succeeded in this.
Despite these reversals, we are going to continue our efforts and to strongly insist on having a dynamic auto industry in Canada and in Quebec. The industry employs some 150,000 workers annually and accounts for investments of close to $73 billion. It remains an important force in the Canadian economy and the Government of Canada continues to consider it a priority to ensure its continuing growth and well-being.
The auto industry invests in Canada because of our highly skilled work force, competitive labour costs and excellent business climate, within which it can prosper.
I would also like to report that GM Canada has indicated that, although this has been a hard decision, most employees could continue to draw an income for up to three years, and the company will work closely with the auto workers and the governments of Quebec and Canada to put in place retraining programs and other transitional programs for workers who need to find other employment.
GM also said that it would try to replace the jobs lost by buying more parts from suppliers in Quebec.
The company announced that it would continue to buy parts from over 700 Quebec suppliers, for a value of over $850 million annually. It is trying to further develop production opportunities for suppliers in Quebec.
The company also expects that its supply initiatives will create as many jobs in Quebec companies producing parts as the number of jobs lost in Sainte-Thérèse.
Naturally, we are concerned about job losses in the country, but we have not lost hope for the future. Far from it.
Despite the setbacks,Canada continues to be one of the best places in the world to do business. We will continue to work for Canadians in all regions of the country.
In Quebec, I have appointed my assistant deputy minister, Pierre Reid, to represent the Government of Canada on the Groupe de travail des intervenants du secteur de l'automobile created by the deputy premier of Quebec, Mrs. Marois, to help find ways of supporting the creation of opportunities for car assembly, parts production and research and development in Quebec's auto industry.
We also support the development of skills in connection with new light-weight materials, such as aluminum and magnesium.
We are favourable to the major new investments recently announced in the Quebec auto industry.
As members of the House are perhaps aware, in November, the Saargummi group announced an investment of $40 million to build two new auto parts plants and create 800 new jobs in Magog, Quebec.
On December 3, 2001, the Société de développement du magnésium announced that it was investing $34 million to build a plant for the production of magnesium auto parts in Boisbriand, which will create 100 new jobs.
On December 18, 2001, Bridgestone-Firestone announced that it was investing $36 million to modernize its tire plant in Joliette and expand its range of products.
These are very good news for Canada and very good news for Quebec.
I therefore believe that the auto industry in Quebec has a brilliant future ahead of it. I hope that all Canadians and Quebecers share my belief.
I hope that all members of this House will recognize this and that they will continue to work with us so that we can do everything necessary to ensure that Quebec's auto industry continues to grow and continues to represent a dynamic part of the economy in that province and in Canada.