Transformation of the automotive industry | Protecting jobs in Canada is a concern

(Ottawa) Canada’s auto industry is experiencing a renaissance as it shifts from building gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles, but some are sounding the alarm over protecting local jobs.

Southern Ontario has become a hub for foreign automakers who have invested tens of billions of dollars since 2020 to set up electric vehicle battery factories, with help from the federal government in the form of credits. tax and subsidies.

As federal and provincial governments subsidize this growing industry, union leaders, the Conservative Party of Canada and the New Democratic Party (NDP) are demanding assurances from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that he will ensure jobs come back to Canadians.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Building Trades Union called on Mr. Trudeau to intervene with the NextStar battery plant in Windsor, Ontario, which is owned by Stellantis and LG Energy Solution.

According to the union, Canadians are being sidelined in favor of temporary foreign workers.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Trudeau, the union organization maintains that 180 skilled workers in the region remain unemployed although they are available to do work that has instead been entrusted to newcomers.

This is a “brazen displacement of workers,” reads the April 10 letter, “by large international corporations thumbing their noses at the Government of Canada, taxpayers and our skilled workers.”

NextStar Energy and the federal government both say foreign workers account for just 72 jobs at the plant and that specialized equipment is being installed that Canadians will then learn to use.

Still, the union’s executive director, Sean Strickland, said these are tasks Canadian workers can already accomplish.

“We have 1,600 Canadian workers on site today, and we hope that continues during the next phase of this project, where work will shift to installing equipment,” Strickland said in a statement. statement. We remain able to provide the qualified labor necessary to carry out this work. »

Guarantees required

On Thursday, Mr. Trudeau was in Alliston, Ontario, to announce the latest multi-billion dollar investment in electric vehicles.

Honda is preparing to build a battery factory next to its assembly plant, which it is revamping to produce fully electric vehicles in a 15 billion project.

The federal prime minister avoided the question of whether the agreement with Honda includes explicit protection for Canadian workers.

“In fact, the investments we are making, whether with NextStar or here with Honda Motor, are aimed at creating good jobs for Canadian workers, and that is what is happening,” said Mr. Trudeau.

The company says 1,000 new jobs will be associated with the project.

But at this point, there is no guarantee that current Honda workers in the community will be able to transition to the new jobs, said the national president of Unifor, Canada’s main auto union.

“We just need to make sure that we protect workers in every way possible,” Lana Payne argued.

When an automaker shifts its existing operations to an electric vehicle factory, it can impact up to 30% of jobs in assembly plants and the auto parts sector, says M^me Payne. This is why it is important for governments to ensure the current footprint of workplaces.

Unifor has lobbied federal and provincial governments to include protections for workers in their contracts with automakers that guarantee income security, job security and the right to form a union.

Honda currently employs more than 4,000 people in Alliston. They are not unionized, but employees have had discussions about joining Unifor.

“For workers who do not benefit from a union, it is extremely important that the government ensures that these workers are protected during the transition period, working with employers to ensure that they benefit from these guarantees , especially when government investments are made,” says M^me Payne.

Opposition reactions

Conservatives have demanded a review of the federal government’s contracts with automakers, saying Trudeau cannot be trusted to protect Canadian jobs.

“We’ve already seen Justin Trudeau announce massive subsidies supposed to create jobs in Canada, only to see him turn around and let those jobs be filled by foreign replacement workers, then lie about it,” the spokesperson said. – Conservative Party spokesperson for Industry, Rick Perkins, and that for Trade, Kyle Seeback.

“We cannot believe that his latest announcement of a $5 billion payment of Canadian taxpayers’ money to another large multinational corporation will be any different,” they added.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh also called on the Liberal government to stop signing “blank checks” without ironclad guarantees for unionized workers.

“There must be safeguards built into every public dollar we spend, and they must be linked to jobs and investments that benefit Canadians,” said Mr. Singh.

“We shouldn’t just give a company a blank check and say we hope they hire Canadians,” he said.