Mayor: GM Oshawa plant closure ‘unfortunate’

MPP blames prior government mismanagement

Politicians could have done better over the years to prevent the impending closure of General Motors in Oshawa, stated Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith — although he was optimistic the provincial Conservatives can help.

Smith wasn’t available for comment on Monday, but the Progressive Conservative MPP issued a written statement.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing the consequence of years of economic mismanagement at multiple levels of government and, today, thousands of innocent families are being hurt as a result,” he stated.

Not that he was despairing. “Working together, we can fix this,” his statement continues. “Our government for the people will work day and night to make Ontario open for business once again.”

But Stuart Harrison, the president and CEO of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, said Ontario has lost about 300,000 manufacturing jobs over the last 15 years.

“This (the GM closure) is an indication of how things have been going for a long time,” he said in an interview. “So what can be done, politically? What does ‘open for business’ really mean?”

Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien said it’s an “unfortunate time,” and the community will “be there” for those workers and their families.

“It’s really unfortunate to hear it (the impending closure of GM) will have a large impact on impact on hundreds of people who work at GM and live in Peterborough (and area),” Therrien said.

She also said city council will work with the other levels of government — as well as with the private sector — “to see what can be done” to help the families.

General Motors officially announced Monday morning will stop production at its Oshawa plant in late 2019, confirming reports that first emerged Sunday night.

The decision to halt production in Oshawa is part of a broad restructuring at GM, which is also ceasing production at four plants in Ohio, Michigan and Maryland in order to cut costs and focus more on autonomous and electric vehicles.

According to GM’s website, the Oshawa Assembly Plant employs 2,522 workers with Unifor Local 222.

It was unclear Monday how many of those workers live in Peterborough and area.

Harrison said he tried to find out on Monday but could only get a rough estimate: he thinks “a few hundred” people from the city and area commute to Oshawa to work for GM.

Nonetheless, he said, there’s still a local impact.

“Regardless of how many people live in this area and work for GM, there are at least as many who supply for GM,” he said.

The Examiner was unable to reach anyone from car-part manufacturer Ventra Plastics in Peterborough for comment on deadline Monday.

Production at the Oshawa plant began on Nov. 7, 1953. In the 1980s, it employed roughly 23,000 people.

The plant now makes the Cadillac XTS and Chevrolet Impala sedans as well as the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks.

Ontario Labour Minister Laurie Scott, the Progressive Conservative MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, stated in a press release that she was “saddened” by the impending closure.

Ford has asked the federal government to extend employment insurance eligibility to 50 weeks and double the length of work-sharing agreements to 76 weeks, she stated.

“We have called upon all three levels of government to work collaboratively to assist affected GM Oshawa workers and their families with this transition,” she stated.

Scott added that her constituency office in Lindsay will be available to help affected GM workers and their families.

Federal Status of Women Minister Maryam Monsef, the Liberal MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, stated in a written release to The Examiner that she’s also “disappointed” with the impending closure of GM.

“Our government will do everything we can to support the affected workers and their families at this difficult time,” she stated.

That wasn’t enough for Conservative MP Jamie Schmale, of Haliburton-Kawartha LakesBrock.

In a release, he mentioned that federal Opposition Leader Andrew Scheer had called for an emergency debate in the House of Commons on Monday night for the government to explain how it will help families hurt by the impending closure.

Scheer also announced plans to visit Oshawa to meet with Oshawa Mayor John Henry.

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