SPEECH: Closure of General Motors’ Oshawa Car Assembly

Hon. Ratna Omidvar: Honourable senators, I wish I could follow the wonderful statements of Senators Manning and Ravalia with good news stories, but Ontarians and, in fact, our country woke up to some truly devastating news today about the closure of the GM plant in Oshawa.

It’s a challenging day for all of us, but in particular for the 2,800 workers, for the community of Oshawa, for Ontario and for all of us. For over 100 years, the Oshawa assembly plant has been an economic epicentre for Ontario. General Motors has owned the plant for over 65 years. It has been home to thousands of good jobs and has been a source of countless indirect opportunities that have allowed many other enterprises to grow around and thrive. It is not an exaggeration to stay that auto manufacturing runs in the DNA of Oshawa, the city and the community.

This is a shock for many reasons. In 2009, the federal government loaned almost $11 billion to keep the company afloat during the recession, with the condition that the automaker would not reduce its manufacturing operations in Canada for six years. GM has been actively communicating with all levels of government ever since, but seems not to have hinted at such a closure. Oshawa’s mayor met with General Motors officials earlier this month and reported there was no indication that it would be ending production in the community.

I think it is unsettling to hear that a company with such a huge economic impact has made such a drastic decision without notice. Its workers learned of the decision by watching a late-night newscast or scrolling through Twitter, as I found out. By this morning, governments are talking to each other. It is my hope that something can be worked out, even at this late stage.

I think there is a lesson bigger than one company inherent in this. We all live in communities and regions. We represent cities and communities whose local economies are reliant on volatile yet shifting sectors like the automotive industry. This is a scenario that plays out far too often in all corners of the globe, and I believe it must be addressed and mitigated with forward-looking policy that understands that the nature of manufacturing is changing, consumer behaviour is changing and, in fact, products are changing.

Now, more than ever, we need to work with workers, unions, employers and governments to identify and address risks and vulnerabilities, prevent immediate closures and production stoppages, and attract further investments in industry.

I want to close by quoting a Tweet put out today by Dr. Steven Murphy, who is the President and CEO of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology:

Oshawa and Durham are resilient and the next chapter is already being written. But this stings.

I hope we all stand in solidarity with the City of Oshawa and its workers.

Thank you.