Mr. Speaker, just over a year ago, we were in the eye of a global economic storm. The automotive industry was being hit particularly hard and almost half a million Canadian jobs were at stake.
Our government acted quickly and responsibly with the Obama administration and now we are seeing more evidence that the right decisions were made.
Yesterday, GM announced that it had repaid its loan in its totality to the Governments of Canada, Ontario and the U.S. Not only has GM repaid its loan, but we also continue to see the announcement of new shifts at auto plants in Canada. That means more jobs for Canadians and for the people of Oshawa.
Just recently a third shift has been added at the GM plant in Oshawa and laid-off auto workers are being recalled.
CAW president, Ken Lewenza, credited action taken by our government with “saving tens of thousands of jobs in the major auto and auto parts industry right across Canada”.
We welcome the news from GM and we will continue our work to see that the economy continues its recovery.