General Dynamics | A munitions giant goes on the attack in Quebec

General Dynamics is preparing a major expansion at its Salaberry-de-Valleyfield factory to replenish stocks of a shell that has proven crucial in the dragging war in Ukraine. The workforce of this defense giant should increase by around 40% in Montérégie, we have learned The Press.

Fifteen new planned buildings, a new artillery materials manufacturing line and work on 1.8 hectares of land: without fanfare, the American multinational recently gave an overview of its ambitions in a project notice sent earlier this year to the Quebec government.

“The General Dynamics Defense Products and Tactical Systems-Canada (GD-OTS) Salaberry-de-Valleyfield site is currently planning a major phase of modernization of its site,” we can read in particular.

This project should last until 2028. However, the first shovels are not yet in the works. This project risks being subject to the procedure of the Office of Public Hearings on the Environment (BAPE), which provides in particular for the preparation of an impact study and public consultations. According to the schedule provided in the project notice, construction of the buildings should begin towards the end of 2025.

In an email sent to The Press, the defense specialist did not want to comment on the size of the investment, but he specified that it should result in the creation of around 200 new jobs. At the time of writing, it was not possible to contact the general director of GD-OTS Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Daniel Lepage.

GD-OTS has around 500 employees in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, including around 350 union members. The complex was built in 1940, at the start of World War II. In the province, GD-OTS also operates factories in Repentigny and Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures, near Quebec. The group produces several thousand 155mm shells monthly in Quebec.

Two football fields

In Montérégie, there are more than 150 buildings and accessory buildings, according to documents sent to the Quebec government. Given the chemical processes and handling of explosives, activities (drying, premixing, mixing, coating, etc.) are “divided into several buildings in order to reduce the consequences in the event of an incident”, such as an explosion.

Up to 15 new units – an explosives dryer and mixing, extrusion and cutting as well as coating units – could be built. According to available information, their combined area would be approximately 135,000 square feet (12,500 square meters), the equivalent of a little more than two football fields.

“This modernization is required not only to consolidate activities at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, but also to improve process safety and increase propellant manufacturing capacity in order to meet market needs,” explains the multinational.

GD-OTS should have turned the page on its expansion project by the time its union members’ collective agreement expires. Represented by the National Chemical Products Union of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield-CSN, union members voted in favor of a new five-year employment contract last year. Salary increases of 25% spread over five years were planned.

Under the current collective agreement, hourly wages range from $33 for certain administrative positions while ballistic technicians can earn $53 per hour. These rates do not take into account the various hourly premiums provided for in the collective agreement, for example for certain work shifts. The union was not available Friday to speak with The Press.

War effort

The expansion of the complex located in Montérégie is part of a concerted effort to increase the production of artillery propellants, particularly for the 155 mm shell, which has been popular with Ukrainian forces since the start of the Russian invasion, more than two years ago.

To supply Kyiv, NATO allies drew on their reserves, which melted available stocks. In this context, on March 25, the Canadian Commercial Corporation, the government-to-government contracting agency, and the American army announced an agreement to set the table for an “expansion of capacity” at GD-OTS in Salaberry -de-Valleyfield.

“This agreement will help meet the growing needs of the United States and its allies in Ukraine, and strengthen the resilience of Canada-US defense supply chains,” it was argued. , at the time of the announcement.

Several of Canada’s allies have already signed agreements to increase their munitions production. In updating its defense policy last April, the Trudeau government planned $9.5 billion over two decades to “accelerate” the country’s production capacity for artillery munitions. Ottawa stressed that it was “increasingly difficult to acquire these munitions abroad”.

Richard Shimooka, a researcher at the Canadian Macdonald-Laurier Institute, who specializes in defense issues, describes this reaction as belated in the current geopolitical context, marked by the war in Ukraine and that between Israel and Hamas.

“This shows a lack of understanding of the situation we find ourselves in,” he explains in a telephone interview. Canada is struggling to meet its promises to supply military equipment because production capacity is deficient. »

The land of the complex operated by General Dynamics in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield belongs to the Quebec government. It is managed by Investissement Québec, the financial arm of the Quebec state. The company is the tenant of the premises.