Debates of Nov. 26th, 2018

General Motors Plant Closure

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague for Brampton North.

As many have said, the decision by GM today is a deeply disappointing one. While we understand this is part of its global restructuring plan and affects its operations globally, I cannot start to understand how devastating this must be for the men and women whose jobs are affected, along with their families and community.

Although I represent a riding from Quebec and have lived the last 30 years of my life there, some people will remember that I grew up in Niagara, and General Motors in St. Catharines was a very important part of our ecosystem. I had a cousin who worked there and family members. We knew what was happening with GM and the ecosystem. We understood its impact whenever there was a downturn in the market or an adverse decision was being made.

I understand full well that today's news will have a significant impact on the community of Oshawa surrounding that plant, the network of suppliers that support the Oshawa plant, as well as the other U.S. plants impacted by the General Motors announcement. General Motors has a long and storied presence in Oshawa, going back over 100 years, and it is simply devastating to hear of this plant's closure.

While GM has made this decision in the context of its overall global restructuring plans, a plan that is closing multiple North American plants as well as three global facilities, it is important to highlight that this is not a reflection of the workforce in Canada. Canada's auto workers, and particularly those in Oshawa, have a global reputation as highly skilled and award winning workers.

We will continue to work closely with our provincial counterparts to help those affected by this closure. We are committed to supporting the workers and the community of Oshawa during this difficult time.

We are also committed to providing assistance to those affected directly by this closure. The government will deliver benefits to employees as they are entitled, with a quality of service that they deserve.

A range of support services and programs is currently available and can be deployed quickly to help workers who may be affected. These services include employment insurance benefits, counselling, job search assistance, and skills training and development provided by the provinces and territories under labour market transfer agreements.

As a government, we will continue to monitor the situation and the impact on workers closely to ensure that those affected receive the assistance they need to quickly find new jobs.

Our government understands that the automotive industry is a vital component of our economy. Over half a million jobs in Canada directly and indirectly depend on the auto sector. Our government understands the importance of this sector and we remain committed to keeping Canada's automotive manufacturing sector globally competitive and innovative.

Our government's support for innovation in the auto sector is an essential component of our plan to stimulate economic growth and create better opportunities for Canadians.

To that end, we are building on several key policy initiatives to strengthen Canada's auto sector by supporting innovation and technology development and by creating the ecosystem that will help Canada become a leader in designing and building the car of tomorrow.

We have a plan that builds on and leverages the expertise in the industry and the expertise in technology shaping the industry's future. Our innovation and skills plan helps position Canada as a leader in the global economy with commitments to grow Canada's automotive footprint, support digital innovation and invest in clean technology.

The strategic innovation fund, now a $2 billion program, has provided funding to support innovative projects in the automotive sector. Since November 2015, our government has invested $389 million in 37 projects undertaken by Canada's automotive sector, resulting in leveraging of nearly $4.1 billion in total investments in the sector.

In addition to this, 23 other projects were announced without any federal government support, leading to a minimum of $1.5 billion in additional automotive sector investments. It is about the ecosystem and we are investing in it.

For example, and as mentioned previously, earlier this year we provided $49 million to create 1,500 new jobs and maintain another 8,000 to help Linamar Corporation launch a new innovation centre in Guelph, Ontario, and I am seated next to the member for Guelph and honoured he is beside me this evening, dedicated entirely to research and development.

Furthermore, in May, we provided $110 million for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada in Cambridge, Ontario, that will help retain 8,000 jobs, create another 450 new jobs and provide 1,000 more co-op placements. That is our future, making Toyota's Canadian plant the largest producer of Toyota hybrid vehicles in North America.

Our innovation superclusters initiative announced earlier this year will invest up to $950 million to support business-led superclusters with the greatest potential to energize the economy and become engines of growth. This new fund is encouraging cross-sector partnerships in investment in areas such as advanced manufacturing, which has a direct impact on the Ontario automotive sector in particular, as well as digital technology and artificial intelligence, all of which go to support the car of the future.

I welcome what was said just a moment ago by the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands with respect to encouraging the kinds of disruptive technologies that will in fact make our economy of the future that much stronger.

Thanks to our global skills strategy, it is now easier for businesses to recruit the talent they need, which helps Canadian businesses grow their operations and create more jobs. The strategy comes with $39.4 million in funding over five years starting in 2017-18 and $6.7 million annually thereafter.

We launched a new agency called Invest in Canada to attract international investments and make it easier for businesses to set up shop in Canada.

In addition to these policies, we are continuing to encourage investments through tax policy. In the fall economic statement last week, my colleague, the hon. Minister of Finance, proposed some important changes to Canada's tax system to encourage more investments, including accelerated write-offs on new investments, with the overall tax rate in Canada on new business investment falling from 17% to 13.8%.

We have heard from Canadians who told us that we needed to work on our competitiveness, and we have with these very measures.

We will continue to work closely with industry, the provinces, municipalities, unions and all other stakeholders to protect and grow Canada's auto industry.

As the second largest manufacturing sector in Canada, the auto industry generates roughly 130,000 jobs and contributes $18.1 billion to the GDP. This sector is vital to our economy, and we are deeply committed to supporting it.

As technology is rapidly transforming the future of mobility to one that is connected, automated, zero emission and shared, the government continues to amplify Canada's automotive manufacturing strengths, innovative research capabilities, technological expertise and talent. Together, with a robust supply chain comprised largely of small and medium-sized enterprises, these strengths contribute to the ecosystem, which makes Canada a location of choice for the design, development and manufacturing of the car of the future.

Our hearts go out to the people of Oshawa. Our government has said that it will remain open to all possibilities to not just help those workers or the transition that may happen, but also to continue to invest in the automotive ecosystem, not just in southern Ontario and not just in Oshawa, but across Canada, when we talk about those supply chains.

[Erin O'Toole, Conservative, Durham, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I know the parliamentary secretary cares. I know he is familiar with some of the government programming with respect to the competitiveness of the auto industry, but he referred to a plan in his remarks. In fact, his remark was “We have a plan that builds on the expertise in the industry.”

The industry has actually spoken. The global automakers, making up the largest assemblers in Ontario right now with Toyota and Honda, have said the tariffs, both retaliatory and steel and aluminum, and taxes on the industry are making them less competitive, myopic, in their words. Even their friend and former senior Liberal adviser, Flavio Volpe, at the Automotive Parts Manufacturer's Association, described the tariff situation months ago as “a mess”. He called it a mess before Canada applied retaliatory tariffs.

There is actually no plan. We are having this emergency debate so we can come up with a plan to address “the mess” that industry is saying is happening right now in the competitive landscape in Ontario: tariffs; retaliatory tariffs; higher taxes; uncompetitive moves; opt in or opt out of the carbon tax, depending on their size as an auto parts or manufacturer. We need a plan to address the uncompetitive elements of our landscape.

When will the member truly bring a plan forward to the House?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, as my hon. friend and colleague, the member for Vaughan—Woodbridge, explained a few moments ago, based on his extensive knowledge of the industry, recent tariff decisions by either the United States or Canada would have had nothing to do with the kinds of decisions that were made globally by General Motors in this case.

As for a price on pollution, it is a wonder that the party on the other side wants to make pollution free again.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it was really interesting and helpful for me to hear from my friend about all the different programs our government is investing in to encourage further investment, and in fact, how it has worked to attract people or companies to invest in the automotive industry. I have also been hearing some of the criticisms from across the way.

What I was hoping was that the hon. member could help me understand, at a time like this, when we are facing such a situation, how the orders of government, the provinces, municipalities and the federal government, can work together rather than pointing fingers?

Can he please speak to the importance of pulling together so that we can keep our eyes on the most important part, which is helping the workers?

[David Lametti, Liberal, LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in fact, the Prime Minister said today that he had spoken with the Premier of Ontario and that they would try to work through non-partisan solutions. The minister of innovation has done the same thing.

Indeed, we will get through this by listening to each part of the ecosystem, including labour, business, big business, small business, the large automotive producers and the smaller supply chain producers, to see the future and adapt to this particular situation on the ground.

The last thing I would add is that creating a strong economy, as we have done, with historic low levels of unemployment, may very well be the best guarantee for the Oshawa ecosystem. They are in a strong and robust economy where there are a number of positions that are unfilled. It is a good guarantee for a transition for those workers who may very well have to find new employment.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as many of us have noted today, the closure of the General Motors plant in Oshawa is devastating news. As a member of a community with a strong automotive sector, Fiat Chrysler in Brampton, and many suppliers, such as Magna, I can understand the devastation today's news has brought to those in Oshawa and others all around Canada.

I cannot reiterate enough that we stand behind all the affected workers and their families. We are taking every step possible to make sure that we continue to support Canada's automotive workers and protect Canadian jobs. There is no doubt that our automotive industry is vital to Canada's economy and that we will be working together with the province, the unions and all stakeholders involved to minimize any potential impacts from General Motors' global restructuring plan.

GM Canada is one of five automotive original equipment manufacturers operating in Canada and currently employs 8,100 workers, with approximately 2,500 at its Oshawa assembly facility. It has been an integral part of the Oshawa community for over 100 years, and I cannot imagine what the closure means to the community. As a government, we are committed to supporting Canada's automotive workers, who are vital to our national economy.

The automotive industry is one of Canada's largest manufacturing sectors and largest export industries, contributing over 130,900 direct jobs and $18 billion to Canada's GDP. Canada is home to an incredible automotive ecosystem. We have approximately 700 suppliers, 40 academic institutions and a world-class workforce that produces high-quality products. Our integrated supply chain with the United States means that an automotive part can cross the border up to six times before it ends up in a finished vehicle, a testament to the importance and strength of Canada's automotive environment.

Canada is also home to world-renowned experts who work in many of the technical areas that contribute to automotive innovation and are redefining the car of the future, including cybersecurity, battery or fuel cell technology, ICT, sensors, lightweight materials and alternative powertrains.

Since November 2015, our government has invested $389 million in the automotive industry, leveraging nearly $4.1 billion in investments in the sector and contributing to a total of $5.6 billion in automotive sector investments. The recently released fall economic statement is proposing to provide a further $800 million over five years to the strategic innovation fund to accelerate support for business innovation in Canada and to continue to support innovative investments in Canada's automotive sector.

The fall economic statement is also proposing to improve competitiveness in our automotive sector by allowing the full cost of machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing and processing of goods to be written off immediately for tax purposes and by introducing accelerated investment incentives to support investment by businesses of all sizes and across all sectors of the economy. It also introduces the export diversification strategy, which is aimed at increasing Canada's overseas exports by 50% by 2025.

Through a range of current and previous federal programs, the Government of Canada has worked to attract and support high-quality business investment, promote technology development, accelerate areas of economic growth and job creation and strengthen and expand the role of Canadian firms in regional and global supply chains.

We recognize that our highly skilled workforce is the driving force behind the success of our automotive industry and is on the front line of innovative and clean technologies. This is why the government's innovation and skills plan focuses on people, technologies and companies to help to position Canada as a leader in the global economy, with commitments to grow Canada's automotive footprint. The plan aims to equip Canadians with the skills necessary for the digital economy and to connect Canadian employers and research institutions with the world-leading talent that will accelerate innovation, help build Canada's future workforce and create opportunities for Canadians.

We are committed to assisting those who have directly been affected by today's decision and will deliver benefits to those employees who are entitled to them. We will continue to engage actively with affected workers to ensure that those workers and their families have the assistance they need. A suite of services and programs is currently available and can be quickly deployed to assist workers. These include income supports through employment insurance and counselling, job search assistance and training and skills development programs delivered by provinces and territories through labour market transfer agreements.

Today's news is devastating for all of Canada, but we remain committed to supporting the automotive industry.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the issues that was brought up during the hon. member's speech was the issue of accelerated tax credits. The reality is that this may be good in terms of spurring investment and buying, but if companies are leaving the country, there is no need for an accelerated tax credit, because they will not be buying any machinery.

My question is related to overall competitiveness in this country. We have a tax regime that continually increases. We have a regulatory regime that is causing problems for businesses. I am wondering what solution the hon. member could suggest with respect to solving some of these competitiveness issues facing businesses in this country, not just for large businesses but for small and medium-sized enterprises, which employ 80% of Canadians.

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Madam Speaker, I find the member's question narrowly focused. The hon. member refers to Canadian jobs across the country. What we have seen in our Canadian economy is a growth in jobs over the last three years. We have seen over 700,000 new jobs created. Our economy is doing better than all G7 countries.

These initiatives announced in the fall economic statement are only going to continue to help those companies grow and be competitive in the global market. The fund created to increase exports by 50% is going to continue to create well-paying jobs.

Although we are disappointed by this news of the Oshawa plant closure, that does not exclude all the other industries and businesses that will continue to benefit from all the wonderful measures in the fall economic statement.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, that is amazing, because in the course of five hours, the government has seemingly created another 200,000 jobs. Throughout this evening, I have heard that 500,000 jobs have been created. Now we are up to 700,000 jobs.

I want to get back to the issue of competitiveness. The tax regime and the regulatory regime in this country are not affecting just the auto industry. They are affecting every single business across this country. We are seeing investment flee. We are seeing it in the resource sector in Alberta. We are seeing it now with this news with GM.

For the last several months, businesses and lobby groups have been coming to Ottawa to talk about aluminum and steel tariffs and the impact they are having on their businesses. What is the government going to do to deal with this situation?

[Ruby Sahota, Liberal, Brampton North, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I really disagree with my colleague. Our small business tax rate is very competitive. It was lowered and will be lowered once again in January.

Since November 2015, our government has invested $389 million and some 37 projects have been undertaken by Canada's automotive sector, resulting in nearly $4.1 billion in investments in total in the sector. That is not a government that is doing nothing. That is not a government that is not standing by the automotive sector. We have been standing by it. We have made many investments in the sector. As a result, many of the companies have experienced grown. There have been 23 other projects announced without any federal government support, leading to a minimum of $1.5 billion in automotive sector investments.

Once again, although we have heard bad news today, there has been much good work that has been done. We will continue to do so and continue to stand by the families and the workers who are affected by this closure.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil.

Tonight's debate is very serious. This is much more than a conversation about a plant closure. This is about employees. It is about families. It is about a community, and it is even broader than that. It is about suppliers and ultimately it is about workers across this country who are rightly saying that if this can happen to a solid industry like the auto industry that has existed as a foundation of the Canadian economy since 1908, and governments over time have dedicated time and attention to this industry, then clearly it can happen to any industry in Canada.

Therefore, I know I speak for all Canadians when I say that our hearts go out to all of those families who are sitting at home discussing tonight how they will build a future after these potential job losses; to the pensioners who have retired from GM who are concerned that perhaps their fate might be similar to the fate of pensioners of other companies like Sears who have left this country, which they might not be protected from and wondering how they will endure in their retirement; and to suppliers, who are wondering what GM's plant closure is going to do to them in their industry. For all of those affected, directly or indirectly, by today's announcement, I say that the game is not up yet, we have work to do and, yes, we must hold the government to account for the role it has played and will play in addressing the issue and positioning for success in the future.

To arrive at solutions, a way forward, we must critically assess the situation that we are in and the role of governments in contributing to the circumstances that we currently find ourselves in, and the solutions that they may arrive at. The current government has said that GM is laying off lots of people south of the border and that this is not about Canada, but a business decision that GM is making, and that Canada really has no part to play in these restructuring announcements, because it is just business as usual and these are decisions that businesses make.

I can say that I was employed in a multinational global corporation at IBM and at Bombardier, and to say that Canada has no role in the decisions that GM has made is to be incredibly naive and uninformed. Global corporations make decisions on a daily basis about which jurisdictions they are going to invest in. They make these decisions internally within their corporations in almost as competitive a way as externally with other organizations. These corporations are looking at the terms and conditions within a nation to decide whether they are going to continue to invest in that nation. Therefore, yes, the terms and conditions or the foundations of the economic structure of Canada have a significant impact on whether GM will decide to put future business here in Canada or future business in the U.S. or in Europe or somewhere else. Therefore, to say that the current government's actions have absolutely no impact, again, is to be uninformed.

Last week, the finance minister said that everything is fantastic with the Canadian economy, that things are moving in the direction we need them to go and that Canada is in a sound economic and competitive position. I will say that GM's decision today is the ultimate vote of non-confidence in the Canadian economy.

Let us understand why that is. What are the factors that perhaps contributed to the decision GM made?

First of all, we are looking at this new negotiated USMCA agreement. In this agreement, yes, we avoided auto tariffs, but we did not really. We were able to avoid auto tariffs under a certain point. What that means is that for the first time ever, the growth potential of Canada's auto industry sector has been capped. An auto industry invests a significant amount of money in its operations. Why would it invest significant money in the future business of a corporation if it knew, before it even got out of the gate, that the maximum amount it can ever achieve is capped? It would say that it is going to another jurisdiction where, if it made that same investment, it would not be capped. It would do so because it is not going to risk having its growth constrained by having to pay tariffs. That is the first thing.

The second thing is our tax structure. When it campaigned in 2015, that government said that it was going to fundamentally change and reform the tax structure, because it understood the competitive implications of a tax structure attracting and retaining global corporations in Canada. However, that is not what it did. Our tax structure has now put us in a position where we are not an attractive jurisdiction relative to our peers and other competitors. That is the second thing.

First is the cap in the USMCA; second is our tax structure. The third is the national security tariffs. We heard the Minister of Foreign Affairs clearly tell us that anyone considering us as a national security threat is clearly delusional. No one in their right mind would look at Canada as being a national security threat, yet the Americans imposed national security tariffs, which have had a punishing effect on our steel and aluminum industry, jeopardizing the competitiveness of our industry. That has also affected the auto industry.

These are the foundational elements that the industry is looking at when it is making that decision, whether or not to invest here. This is not limited to the auto industry. This expands far beyond the auto industry. This is merely the beginning of what is a frightening trend. Bombardier Aerospace announced that it is laying off 3,000 personnel. That is significant. That is just one example in a very long list of manufacturing companies in this country that, as a result of the actions of the government, are no longer viewing Canada as a competitive jurisdiction.

Do not be fooled. The actions of the government matter. The actions of the government determine whether or not the basic foundations and elements of the competitive nature of this country attract and retain manufacturing industries here.

Where does that leave us? The government has not set out the critical conditions necessary to ensure Canada's competitiveness. That is why we are seeing these manufacturing jobs and foreign investment leave. We, on this side of the House, are not about 10-second soundbites. We are not about throwing money at something without any outcomes and measurable connections to those investments. We understand that the foundational elements of the economy must be restructured, so that not only can we keep the auto industry here and help it to choose this jurisdiction as an opportunity for electric vehicles in the future and to retool our plants, but also encourage all manufacturing in Canada to ensure that Canada remains competitive and can move forward not only for the next 10 years but also the next 20, 50 and 100 years.

[David Lametti, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation]

Madam Speaker, I enjoyed the hon. member's speech and trying to find a coherent thread within it.

I was at an announcement this morning in Montreal when the hon. member's former company, IBM, announced a major artificial intelligence investment in the Montreal economy.

I would ask the member to comment on the fact that Toyota, Honda, Linamar and Ford have all made major investments in the automotive ecosystem in Canada.

Finally, if the hon. member is condemning the Canadian government's policy because of this one global investment decision made by General Motors, what would she have to say about the American position? They lost three plants. I am curious to know if her logic would coherently extend to condemning the actions and economic policies of the American government.

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, that is a very disconcerting position for the member to take.

Ultimately we need to focus on the jobs within Canada. Simply because some companies are making investments in Canada, and one could ask whether it is because the government has found some way of buying those jobs through an innovation fund, it is not about the jobs that are being created. It is about the significant number of jobs that are being lost despite the investments the government has made and what the government plans to do to set the very fundamental foundation of tax reform, competitiveness and national security tariffs to ensure we have more jobs in this country.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Madam Speaker, in my area of Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola there are mills that operate on both sides of the border and they have said that with the recent reforms to the American tax system, they are now in a competitive marketplace where they have not just to compete against their own Canadian mills, but they now have to compete directly with American ones.

Because the nature of the game has changed, those multinational corporations are making major decisions. When they find that the Canadian space has higher regulatory issues and higher levels of taxation, we are being wiped out with those kinds of investments.

Does the member think this is just one particular step toward a reconcentration of capital as it begins to move across international boundaries and is the government is paying attention to this new dynamic?

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, we have a responsibility in this nation to understand what the competitive landscape is, what other jurisdictions are doing, and to set the foundation to ensure that we attract and retain foreign investment, which we have lost recently. We need to establish a tax structure that is attractive rather than negative. We need to ensure most importantly that we are not a national security threat because the economy and security go together. We want to attract business and ensure that we have the backs of our allies because they do not see us as a national security threat.

[Lloyd Longfield, Liberal, Guelph, ON]

Madam Speaker, when we talk about the competitive landscape, 110,000 cars were produced at this plant between September 2017 and 2018. That was actually 50,000 cars fewer than the year before and 5% of Canada's total production. In order to protect these jobs we are looking at investments in technology and new types of jobs.

Could the hon. member comment on the importance of investing in new technologies?

[Leona Alleslev, Conservative, Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill, ON]

Madam Speaker, it is a very important question because the government has indicated to the Canadian people that it is focused on investing in innovation and technology, in particular, in the auto sector, yet when GM openly stated that it is going for green vehicles and electric and technologically advanced vehicles, it did not choose this jurisdiction. Clearly there is a disconnect between the investments that the government is making in those innovative technologies and the actual result of our economy and our manufacturing industry being able to pick up on that and utilize that technology.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, the first thing I would like to do is thank the Speaker for granting this emergency debate today. I sat through all of it tonight with sincere concern for the families in Oshawa and, in fact, the families around Durham region.

In general terms, the tone of the debate has been very, very strong with a strong level of concern. Some solutions have been proposed. That is the reason we are here tonight, to try to find solutions and to work not just with the government, but also with the community and labour, along with the employees and all those who are affected as a result of the very devastating news from Oshawa today.

I have been spending a lot of time, actually, in Oshawa over the last several years. My son plays for the Oshawa Generals. By the way, the Generals are named after General Motors. I go to the games as much as I can. I talk to a lot of people. People who recognize me because they have seen me on TV or CPAC or whatever come up to me and we talk politics. Just on Friday night, a gentleman came up to me at the Tribute Communities Centre arena. We talked about pensions and the need to protect pensions and how important that was to those employees at General Motors. We had a long conversation about it. This is a conversation that is happening over and over again in the Oshawa community.

I think of those people who I saw at the Friday night hockey game and those people who I am going to see this coming weekend at a couple of games in Oshawa. I will give them a hug if they need it. I am sure there are some of them who are up tonight watching this debate with great interest after the devastating day that they had today and are trying to find out what, if any, solutions the Government of Canada and this Parliament of Canada can come up with.

If we look back, a certain amount of prophecy happened back in May. Magna International's chief executive officer, Don Walker, was talking about overall competitiveness in the automotive industry. He was doing this at a shareholder relations meeting. He said:

[I]nitiatives such as Ontario’s cap and trade program, as well as rising electricity costs and new labour legislation are making it increasingly difficult to remain competitive against other jurisdictions that don’t face “all these burdens.” “I’m worried about what’s going on in Canada,” Walker told employees and shareholders gathered in Markham, Ont. on Thursday.

“I get very frustrated when I see the decisions being made that put undue administrative costs and inefficiencies on our plants, specifically here in Ontario, because we have to compete… We’re not going to get business if we’re forced to be uncompetitive.”

Walker was talking specifically about some of the initiatives in Ontario with respect to the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act as an example of how the government is affecting business and competitiveness.

I think the same could be said of any of us who have been in Ontario over the course of the last 15 years. Those of us who represent Ontario know just how devastating some of the policies of the Wynne and McGuinty government have been to business. This announcement today is the culmination of not just those policies in Ontario, but I would also suggest the policies of the current federal Liberal government. The reason is simple. I have said many times in this House that those who are running Ontario into the ground are now running the Prime Minister's Office and, therefore, by extension, running Canada into the ground as well. Those failed policies in Ontario are not going to work here federally. It has been proven that they do not work. It is quite concerning in just three short years.

It is funny because I think back to the last election when I had debates and I was talking about this very issue. I would ask people why we would want to go down the same path federally as Ontario did. Why would we want that? We knew there was no difference between the Ontario Liberal Party and the federal Liberal Party.

Canada, in general, and the state of our economy and competitiveness have really taken a hit over the course of the last three years. There are several reasons for that, such as regulatory requirements, environmental requirements, tax requirements, when seemingly our biggest competitors are going in a completely opposite direction. When it comes to tax and regulatory regimes, Canada is going in the opposite direction, and we are imposing more regulation and taxes on businesses, which is creating more uncertainty, not just in the automotive sector but also in the energy sector. We have seen hundreds of billions of dollars that have left the energy industry. We have seen hundreds of thousands of jobs that have been lost. That uncertainty is cascading throughout the economy.

The other side will talk about the 500,000 jobs that have been created, or the 700,000 jobs. Nobody on the other side seems to get that number right. However, the reality is that there is doubt and uncertainty that exists within our country. Any time there is doubt, it limits investment. In fact, it restricts investment, because the one thing that businesses do not like is uncertainty and they will not make the investments they need to make in an uncertain economic business environment.

What is causing that uncertainty? Well, the Leader of the Opposition was in Barrie in August. We held a round table. We had some of the largest manufacturers. Napoleon was represented there, a large steel and aluminum manufacturing facility, and there were others as well. Every single one of them talked about the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs on our country, and not just what was imposed by the United States, but the retaliatory tariffs that we imposed on ourselves as causing a problem and creating this uncertainty.

I walked away from that meeting remembering what one of the largest employers in central Ontario said to me. He said, “The one thing the Liberal government needs to understand is that my money is portable. I can take it anywhere I want. I can take it to another country or another continent. I can set up shop there and hire people there. I choose to be here because these are my roots, but as long as this continues to go on, this doubt and uncertainty within the business environment, there is no reason for me to stay here when I could take my money somewhere else, and it is portable.”

That is a warning, just like the warning from the CEO of Magna that every Canadian should be heeding right now. We have been heading down a path over the course of the last three years that has put us in an uncompetitive environment in almost every sector of our economy. It is concerning, and it certainly came to light today with this announcement at GM.

We want to come up with solutions. We do not want to just complain about what is happening to this country, although what is happening within this country is very real. However, let us talk about competitiveness. The hon. member for Durham said it right when he started off this debate earlier this evening. We have to work together to find a way to retool this plant. We have some of the best skilled labour, some of the most innovative people in North America, arguably around the world. We could use that expertise to figure out how we can retool this plant. We have to look after these employees. It has been said many times tonight that it is through job training, benefits and pensions. It is just like the gentleman who approached me at the Tribute Communities Centre the other night said about protecting the pensions. That has to be critical for these employees.

I talked about tax competitiveness and aligning with the provinces a tax competitive regime so that when one end of government tries to give a credit or benefit, the other end is not trying to take it away. That has to be an option.

As well, for God's sake, we have to stop this carbon tax now. It is putting us in an incredibly uncompetitive position, and that is coming from every business sector in this country. We have to look at regulatory competitiveness and make sure that the carbon tax is not imposed on businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.

The new NAFTA agreement, the USMCA, is causing uncertainty. There are the steel and aluminum tariffs. I mentioned the retaliatory tariffs. We have to eliminate those. That is what business is telling us they need in order to move away from this doubt and uncertainty.

I will conclude with this—

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

I tried to give the member the signal that his time was up. Maybe he will be able to add to the questions and comments.

The hon. member for Toronto—Danforth.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Madam Speaker, I have listened with interest to the member across the way. I find it fascinating that he is blaming a price on pollution as one of the issues in this debate. It is simply not a reason that has been provided in any way by General Motors. I think it undermines the fact that the families who depend on the jobs at the GM plant and elsewhere are people who care about their families and their children and want to make sure that we have a healthy environment for their future.

What I really wanted to hear from the member was a comment. I was reading an article in the Financial Post on this specific issue, which said that General Motors did not blame a trade deal or government policies for its decision to eliminate nearly 3,000 jobs at the assembly plant in Oshawa. When I hear that and I see that there were three plants closed in the United States, perhaps he can explain why he is coming up with an explanation for this decision that has not come from GM and does not seem to be coming from the people who are observing it.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, I would encourage those of us who are engaged in this debate to not be so naive to think that General Motors is going to tell us the exact reasons why it pulled out.

There is a tremendous amount of uncertainty in this country and it speaks to the issue—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

Order. Somebody is speaking. Therefore, no discussions should be had, except for the person who has the floor. The hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil is very capable of answering the question.

The hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil.

[John Brassard, Conservative, Barrie—Innisfil, ON]

Madam Speaker, I know it is a late hour. I know it is an emotional issue. I know that, in some cases, the members on the other side may feel some guilt with respect to a lot of their policies and how they are impacting businesses and families in this country, as evidenced by the announcement today.

As I said earlier, to think that General Motors is going to give us all of the reasons publicly why it decided to close the Oshawa GM plant I think is rather naive. If we go out there and talk to businesses, when we are dealing with them on a one-on-one basis they will tell us exactly what is going on in this country, and most of it is dealing with issues of competitiveness. For the last several weeks, we have had steel and aluminum manufacturers come to Parliament Hill begging us to do something about the retaliatory steel and aluminum tariffs, and not just the retaliatory ones, but trying to knock some sense into what is going on with the steel and aluminum tariffs and trying to get the government onside. The concern is real.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Madam Speaker, earlier today, Dennis DesRosiers, an expert consultant to the automotive industry, said that, despite the dedication, the expertise and the commitment of the workers at GM's plant in Oshawa, the closure of that plant by General Motors should be seen as the canary in a coal mine. Mr. DesRosiers said he believes there will be other closures. He does not know where, he does not know when, but there will be closures unless the current government goes beyond sympathetic words and creates meaningful action to increase the competitiveness of this industry. I wonder if my colleague could expand on the fears of Mr. DesRosiers.