Mr. Speaker, recently my riding of Welland took another devastating blow when Henniges Automotive announced it would close its Welland plant by the end of the year, leaving over 300 hard-working people in my community without well-paying jobs.
The company was taken over by a private equity firm whose only interest was to make a quick buck no matter how many people it put out of work or how many communities it destroyed. This is yet another example of how the Conservative government has deserted Canadian workers by allowing another plant to leave Ontario without a fight.
The Conservatives' attitude that it does not matter how hard people work or how profitable they make a company, the Conservatives will simply cast them off without a second thought, is wrong and shameful.
The people of Niagara have watched plant after plant close around them with no support in sight from the government. As Welland mayor Barry Sharpe said, “This is another very dark day, another major setback the city can't afford and one we didn't deserve”. He is right. That is why I and the New Democrats stand with workers in their fight for good jobs and the fair treatment they deserve in Niagara and right across the country.