Mr. Speaker, this opposition motion and, quite frankly, the entire Conservative plan around the auto industry in Canada come down to one thing. They come down to denialism. I am going to demonstrate that by talking in particular about three things that they are denying the reality of. They are denying the reality of the auto sector and what exists today. They are denying the reality of the trade situation that we have with the United States, and they are denying the reality of the emerging EV market.
I will start with the auto sector. The reality here is that the auto sector that the Conservatives are trying to harken back to is one from the 1960s, when the auto industry sector in North America was completely different. For example, back in the 1960s, there were primarily just three auto manufacturers in North America: Ford, Chrysler and, I believe, GM. Now there are literally dozens. This is one of the key reasons why it would not work.
There is one other major difference between the 1960s and now. I cannot believe I have to explain this to the Conservatives, but when we consider the fact that they live in the past, it makes sense. The reality is that supply chains are different now from back then. What they are talking about is a fundamental shift to the reality of the sector that we have right now, as it relates to auto. Do not take my word for it, because I am certainly not an expert when it comes to the auto industry. Instead, let us listen to what some of the experts are saying.
John D'Agnolo was referring to the Leader of the Opposition when he said, “He looked at a pact from 1965 and he tried to put details in there”. He went on to say, “Today, the industry is totally different.” He continued, “So, they put out these numbers, and unfortunately, they didn’t do their homework”. That was from the Unifor Local 200 president and auto council chair.
Now the member for Dufferin—Caledon and a number of Conservatives have gotten up to say, “Well, you're just cherry-picking. That's just what one person said. You're talking about one quote.” Well, then, I will not stop there. I will go further. Lana Payne, the Unifor national president, talked about the Leader of the Opposition. This is what she said—