Garden City’s thoughts with Oshawa
Mayor says tough day for all GM communities
Mayor Walter Sendzik says General Motors continues to be an important part of the local economy and St. Catharines will work with all levels of government to support manufacturing and keep the jobs in the city.
Hours after GM announced a halt to production in Oshawa, Sendzik said St. Catharines was reassured the plant on Glendale Avenue will continue operations.
“It has been a tough day for Oshawa and GM communities across North America,” he said during Monday night’s council meeting.
“We share our support for the workers and affected families and their communities.”
GM announced Monday it will stop production at its Oshawa Assembly Plant where more than 2,500 people are employed.
“Today’s announcement shows that not even after 100-plus years in business can you protect a community from the forces of globalization,” Sendzik said.
Sendzik said it was important in light of the GM announcement to point out St. Catharines does have an economic development strategy that council has ap-
proved and will continue to move forward. He said the city has to continue supporting the manufacturing that’s in the community but also has to support diversification.
“These shocks to communities around us are something that should ignite in us that continued effort to make sure that we’re all working together as a council, and as staff, and as a community, supporting our local businesses and working towards making sure that these kind of shocks don’t reverberate to the point that it hurts a community to its core,” he said.
“It’s a tough day for Oshawa and our thoughts are with them.”
The St. Catharines engine and transmission operations on Glendale Avenue has more than 1,300 employees. The plant manufactures the V6 and V8 engines and GF6 transmission.
The company said it has invested $1.85 billion over the past 15 years in
St. Catharines’ 180,000-square-metre facility.