Martin Regg Cohn
Premier seems more interested in short-term slogans than future job creation,
Doug Ford’s attempt at damage control for doomed GM workers consisted of handing out his mobile phone number, and hinting at extra benefits for the jobless. But the damage is done.
No matter the premier’s political spin, the economic spinoff from car assembly plants is a powerful force multiplier — or vaporizer, in this case. Oshawa’s loss is Ontario’s disaster.
In fairness, this was GM’s decision. But the premier now owns it, after repeatedly promising to make Ontario “open for business” again — not closed until further notice.
No premier can force GM to cry uncle. But for reasons understood only by Ford, he has given up on the Oshawa decision, deferring to GM’s claim that it is final and irrevocable.
The politician who prides himself on disruption has revealed his own defeatism. GM hasn’t ruled out reopening plants in the U.S., and Ottawa is still trying, so why is Ford so quick to concede Canadian jobs?
Ontario is not without longterm options. The problem is that our premier is more enamored of short-term slogans that befit bumper stickers but offer no protection from an economic crash.
GM is not rolling up its Oshawa operations because it’s bankrupt — the company still earns billions in profits. No, this multinational is strategically re-engineering its own rebirth by wisely reinvesting in low-emissions vehicles that are the next consumer wave.
Where does Ford’s Ontario fit into that investment horizon? Consider the anti-business antics of Ontario’s supposedly pro-business Progressive Conservative government. And then ponder how that factors into big business decisionmaking by a company like GM:
Ford’s first act as premier was to rip up signed private sector contracts, notably the White Pines wind turbine project that had previously been approved. To guard against litigation and compensation, he relied on legislation and confiscation.
In the aftermath, Ford spectacularly snubbed his visiting German counterpart last summer by refusing to sign a friendship agreement with the powerhouse state of Baden-Wurttemberg, home of renewable energy companies but also big carmakers. Open for business? Tell that to the Germans.
Ford recklessly dismantled the cap-and-trade framework that business had relied upon to price carbon pollution, laying the groundwork for a default federal carbon tax that created needless disruption.
Zapping renewable energy, the PC government unplugged its electric car supports — and lost a foolish court battle with Tesla after trying to cut out the California carmaker from sales incentives available to others.
The premier picked a public fight with Hydro One’s (admittedly overpaid) CEO. But instead of persuading him to reduce his salary, Ford sidelined Mayo Schmidt and the entire corporate board.
Relying on the government’s partial ownership position, Ford chief of staff Dean French shut down any compromise talks, sources say. French later intervened in governmentowned Ontario Power Generation to undo the hiring of another corporate executive he wanted out, Alykhan Velshi. Such is the PC government’s approach to corporate governance.
Ford cancelled a planned hike in the minimum wage to $14 an hour, clawed back two paid annual sick days, and cut corporate taxes further.
The culmination of Ford’s strategic vision was the unveiling of new road signs declaring Ontario “Open for Business” — recycling the same tired slogan previously adopted by fledgling American states with decidedly mixed results.
Is Ontario truly open for business? Or is it increasingly closed-minded?
Imagine yourself an auto executive sizing up the track record of a new government that rips up contracts on a whim, shreds corporate boards on a caprice, claws back paid sick days out of spite, promotes a minimum wage economy out of fright, and fights an electric carmaker out of misplaced hostility.
A forward-looking provincial government creates the conditions for strategic investment with stable policies that foster education and job training in growth industries — not least the clean energy sector that GM is focusing on.
That means promoting the value-added workforce of tomorrow, rather than retrofitting Ontario for yesterday’s minimum wage economy.
No premier can control events.
But the wise politician tries to get out in front of them.