The manufacturing industry isn’t what it used to be, nor should it be. As a province, we should be moving forward. We should be an example for the world to follow, but what we shouldn’t be doing is leaving people behind.
Tomorrow, General Motors will announce its plan to hire 1,000 new engineers to boost its research and development in Canada. Make no mistake—this is a good-news announcement. It is an important step forward for the auto industry in Ontario and in Oshawa.
I’m encouraged by General Motors’s continued commitment to Oshawa, but the fact is that families in our community continue to remain uncertain about their future. Without a new product mandate from General Motors and without a promise to keep the existing 2,500 jobs at the assembly plants, our community is left with more questions than answers.
Oshawa has been a leader in the automotive industry for decades and as we continue to grow as an innovation hub, we must also ensure that the thousands of families that built GM are not left behind.
These families have been left in the lurch for more than a decade and they deserve to know what the future will hold. Oshawa is and always will be Motor City, and that is thanks to the efforts of generations of GM employees in our community.
Hard work shouldn’t go unnoticed, and it shouldn’t be forgotten. I ask that the government work with GM and fight for our community.
Tomorrow’s announcement will ensure that the cars of the future will be developed in Oshawa. Now let’s make sure they are built in Oshawa too.