House of Commons Hansard #406 of the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was seniors.

Topics

Automotive IndustryAdjournment Proceedings

7:20 p.m.

NDP

Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON

Madam Speaker, I last rose in this place to urge the government to act on behalf of Unifor members at GM Oshawa, who now know that the Liberal government has turned its back on them.

The GM plant closure is devastating for the families of 2,500 workers and for thousands more whose livelihoods have depended on that plant in Oshawa for over 100 years. The Liberals have yet to act. There was no plan, no emergency meetings, and the Prime Minister still has not even been to Oshawa, where the layoff notices are coming and people are very uncertain of their future.

Canadians deserve a government that is working hard for them. Meeting with auto workers in Oshawa should be at the most basic level of engagement, which the Liberal government has completely failed to do.

What is the Prime Minister waiting for? It has been months since the announcement. These workers are fighting for their jobs, along with Unifor, looking for alternatives for the plant that they have in Oshawa and something that can keep some of them working and with their families.

It is clear that it will not be a solution that keeps GM in Canada, and the reason is that the Liberal government simply refuses to get GM to the table to talk about what it will take for them to reinvest in Canada and in Oshawa.

This is critical. This will impact not just the community of Oshawa but the entire auto ecosystem across the country and certainly across southwestern Ontario.

For far too long, Conservative and Liberal governments have taken the auto sector, its companies and our auto workers for granted. The auto sector produces 40% of all Canadian exports. That is a huge portion of what we are exporting. It is also a significant amount of all the research and development that Canada does, and it employs tens of thousands of highly skilled, well-paid workers in high-tech manufacturing, while supplying billions in taxes to support public services like health care and education.

This industry built the Canadian middle class. The blue-collar workers and auto workers of our country have been the backbone of the middle class. This is the crown jewel of our economy, not just in Windsor-Essex but across the country. To be quite honest, it is what every other country wants and what they are trying to steal away.

I visited Malaysia with the trade committee last year around the CPTPP. Ten years ago, Malaysia had no auto industry whatsoever, but it has gone above and beyond to attract and create an entire auto sector that is getting them away from their traditional sectors, so to say that somehow auto jobs are being replaced by robots or technology or processes is completely and utterly false. I think the government should be focusing on how we can keep these jobs here in Canada.

Over the last 10 years, in North America alone, Canada received only 7% of the auto investment that was made versus Mexico, which got 20%, and the U.S. received 73%. Those numbers alone tell us that we are not doing enough. Certainly the Liberal government has no auto policy and no auto strategy. When we lost the Auto Pact, the Conservatives, and now the Liberals, did nothing to try to support auto workers.

Therefore, my question is this: Will the Liberals finally stand up for auto workers in a meaningful way and go to Oshawa and try to attract investment in our country?

Automotive IndustryAdjournment Proceedings

7:25 p.m.

Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia Québec

Liberal

Rémi Massé LiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation

Mr. Speaker, as we have stated several times, we believe that General Motors made a mistake when it closed the Oshawa assembly plant, and that is what the minister told GM's CEO at a meeting in Detroit last January.

We know that the plant closure will have an impact that ripples through the community. We want these workers and all Canadians to know that we are committed to ensuring the prosperity of Canada's economy.

The minister has spoken and continues to work with the Government of Ontario to coordinate our efforts to ensure that the measures we implement meet the needs of workers who may be seriously impacted by these decisions.

The minister has also been speaking and working with Unifor as our government delivers on our commitment to the workers of Oshawa and Windsor, their families, automotive suppliers and the broader community.

We were delighted to learn that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was able to commit to an investment of $355 million U.S. in the Windsor facilities for a future product.

Manufacturing has traditionally been an excellent source of well-paying jobs, especially in the auto sector. Our government wants to ensure that Canadians continue to have access to these and many other well-paying, middle-class jobs. We have a plan to do exactly that.

Auto manufacturing is a touchstone of Canada’s economy and has a bright and promising future. It is an integral part of our government’s forward-looking, ambitious and comprehensive innovation and skills plan. We are investing in innovation and skills development today so that Canadians and Canadian companies can succeed in the economy of tomorrow. Through programs like the strategic innovation fund, we have helped secure major investments and re-investments in Canada’s other auto assembly plants.

Since 2015, automobile manufacturers have invested over $6 billion in Canada on major upgrades to equipment, advanced manufacturing technology, and expanded research and development. Yes, I said $6 billion.

Our partnership with automotive manufacturers has supported the production of next-generation vehicles and is positioning Canada to be a leader in the development of car-of-the-future technologies that will focus on autonomous, connected and cleaner vehicles. These investments will strengthen the automotive sector's presence in Canada and provide well-paying jobs and opportunities for Canadians for years to come. Our plan is working and is having tangible results.

In fact, we saw the results of this plan yesterday, when Toyota announced that it will start manufacturing the Lexus NX and the leading-edge Lexus NX hybrid at its plant in Cambridge, Ontario. That plant will manufacture these models for the entire North American market.

The jobs of the future will demand specialized training, and we are working to ensure that Canadians are trained in current and in-demand technologies.

Canada retains a mature automotive cluster, and we are building expertise in advanced technologies, a highly skilled workforce, and strong research and development capacity. All of it is part of our comprehensive plan to ensure Canada's success in the future economy, in the auto industry and every industry.

Businesses have confidence in Canada and in Canadian workers, and they know that we are ready to build the cars of tomorrow.

Automotive IndustryAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

NDP

Tracey Ramsey NDP Essex, ON

Madam Speaker, the member mentioned that the Minister of Innovation had gone to Windsor recently. The reason he had to do that was because the Liberals introduced an incentive in the budget for electric vehicles. In doing so, they excluded the only Canadian-made electric vehicle, the Pacifica, the hybrid that is built in Windsor.

Immediately following the budget, we held a rally in Windsor, with all the auto workers. They could not believe the fact that the Prime Minister had been in the plant months before, but it did not cross his mind, when making the budget, to ensure the crown jewel of Windsor, the Pacifica, the only electric-made vehicle in Canada, was included.

We had a rally. We pressured. Then, lo and behold, the minister went to Windsor to announce that, yes, the hybrid would be included.

I thank the workers, those who came out, the member for Windsor West and the member for Windsor—Tecumseh, who, along with myself, stood side by side with them to demand better from the government.

This is the lack of understanding the Liberals have of the auto industry, that they would make such a foolish error in a budget, which they had to correct. I am thankful to those auto workers for working very hard to correct it. However, it should not be on the backs of auto workers. It should be the government that—

Automotive IndustryAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

Unfortunately, the time is up, and I have to allow the parliamentary secretary to respond.

Automotive IndustryAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

Liberal

Rémi Massé Liberal Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC

Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that the hon. member across the way is playing politics with an issue like this. If she had listened to the Minister of Transport explain the program, she would know that the Pacifica is part of the program.

As I said earlier, we believe that General Motors made a mistake closing the assembly plant in Oshawa. Our government is committed to investing in innovation and skills development in order to ensure that Canadians and Canadian companies can succeed in the economy of tomorrow. These initiatives will help ensure that the Canadian workforce has the advanced manufacturing expertise employers will need in the economy of tomorrow.

Automotive IndustryAdjournment Proceedings

7:30 p.m.

NDP

The Assistant Deputy Speaker NDP Carol Hughes

I want to remind members again that when someone has the floor, they should not be interrupting that person. I would appreciate that.

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 7:33 p.m.)