Oxford MP looking for answers on CAMI plant

(Unifor photo)

Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Amid threats by Unifor Local 88 to take over the massive Ingersoll production facility, Arpan Khanna is accusing the federal government of dragging its feet on coming up with a solution to get employees back to work.

Union chair Mike Van Boekel said it is the only leverage he and nearly 1,100 laid-off workers have to try and keep the plant open.

“We will occupy the plant until there is a way forward. We want to team up with the federal government and GM to get something for the plant.”

General Motors announced in October it had ceased production of the BrightDrop electric delivery van due to lower-than-expected sales. Last week, union officials met with Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, Secretary of State for Labour John Zerucelli, Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie and GM officials.

“Joly told GM to come back with a commitment to the plant and the workers. She said talks are continuing, so we are waiting to see what the outcome will be. We are fighting to ensure CAMI stays open and we are prepared to do whatever it takes to protect our jobs, our members, and the future of this plant.”

Oxford MP Arpan Khanna posted a letter he wrote to Joly on social media, where he demanded an update on the situation. She gave GM 15 days to deliver a full update on its “next steps” for workers at the plant. That deadline has come and gone with no plan released by the automaker.

“I have been asking a lot of questions. The timeline the Liberals put in was their own timeline,” said Khanna. “When I asked her in Parliament, she stood up in the House and said within 15 days GM would present us with a plan. She made that statement, and she is the minister of industry. We will hold the government to their own promises.”

Khanna said he’s reached out to Joly and has asked General Motors for a meeting this week.

“I’ve been in touch with Mayor Petrie, Mike Van Boekel, so we are doing everything possible for our autoworkers. I will always be a voice for them. There are thousands of spinoff jobs being affected by this in the transportation and parts industries.”

He also accused the Liberal government of selling out autoworkers across the province and said the future for the industry looks grim.

“We have also seen this with the GM plant in Oshawa, the Stellantis plant in Brampton. We are headed down a dangerous path. We have a Prime Minister who promised elbows up and promised to be a champion for workers. He is clearly failing and not living up to what he said he would deliver.”

Khanna said he is also disappointed with the Liberal government’s lack of consultation with opposition parties, despite its promise to do the exact opposite.

“They talk a big game, but they don’t collaborate. We saw that with the budget, we saw that on other files. They put on this show that they are ready to collaborate, but don’t follow through on it. That’s why I am getting together with the mayor, the union, and others, to see what we can do to fight for autoworkers. This government has been a complete failure when it comes to working with all levels of government and stakeholders.”

The federal and provincial governments kicked in a combined half a billion dollars to retool the Ingersoll facility. Khanna said the opposition has not been given a copy of the agreement the automaker signed with the government.

“We want to see if anything was given in terms of job security, but this government has been lacking in transparency on almost every single file, and we will keep raising these issues in Parliament.”

GM Canada has released a statement saying it has no plans to remove anything from its Ingersoll plant.

“GM has no intention at this time to remove manufacturing equipment and our focus continues to be supporting our people and working with Unifor and governments to evaluate opportunities for Cami.”