Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development has weighed in on the decision by General Motors to close its Oshawa plant.
Navdeep Bains, while announcing investments supporting two Windsor auto supply companies on Monday, used the occasion to comment on the Detroit-based automaker's plan to idle the Oshawa assembly plant at the end of this year. He said the federal government is committed to fighting for the affected GM workers and their families.
"We're going to continue to fight for the workers, we're going to continue to defend the automotive sector, and we're going to be part of the solution," said Bains. "We've been very clear, we believe that GM is making a mistake by leaving Oshawa."
The scheduled closing affects 2,200 GM Oshawa workers, plus workers who work for suppliers that feed the facility with parts. Unifor, which says the closing is in violation of their collective bargaining agreement with GM Canada, has been aggressively lobbying GM to keep the plant open, complete with union rallies and meetings with GM management.
GM said the closing of Oshawa, plus four plants in the US, is necessary to restructure the automaker as consumers are turning more toward the profitable SUVs and pickup trucks. The company said it is working tirelessly to ensure the soon-to-be-laid-off workers are taken care of.
Bains said the Liberal government is committed to doing the same.
"We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you. We have your back, and we will continue to support you," said Bains.
Bains was scheduled to head to Detroit later Monday to attend the North American International Auto Show. Ontario Premier Doug Ford also attended the auto show to meet with automakers about investment in Ontario.