The president of a Windsor-Essex union local took his case for the auto industry to Parliament Hill this week.
Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy was invited to Ottawa to give testimony on the new free trade agreement between Canada, the United States, Mexico, or the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Members of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry joined Windsor West MP Brian Masse, the NDP auto critic, in hearing testimony as Parliament considers ratifying CUSMA.
Cassidy was allowed to give a statement for 10 minutes before being asked questions by the committee members, but his microphone was cut off at the 10-minute mark. En route back to Windsor from Ottawa Tuesday, Cassidy told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com he would've likely still been testifying if that didn't happen.
"I could have gone on for days around this issue with auto and how important it is in our community," said Cassidy. "Everybody was listening, I can tell you that. I looked around the room and people commented afterward during the question period."
The strong link between Windsor-Essex and the auto industry was at the centre of Cassidy's testimony. He reminded committee members about the financial benefits cities like Windsor get from the auto industry.
"The monies that the auto industry generates in communities is second to none," said Cassidy. "With the Windsor Assembly Plant, you've got the third shift sitting there, looming potential loss. If we can get this trade deal in check, we can have auto investment."
Cassidy said he knows Windsor can support the production of additional parts, considering all of the investment taking place in Detroit right now with new plants and products.
"We could have technology jobs, we could have a battery plant right in Windsor instead of us waiting for batteries to come out of China," said Cassidy. "We can manufacture things, we can build things, and that's what's important."
In Canada, CUSMA has passed second reading. The agreement has already been ratified in the United States and was signed by President Donald Trump on January 29. The Mexican Senate overwhelmingly approved the pact in December 2019.
-With files from Adelle Loiselle