Canada column for
Sunday, Dec. 2/18
THE CANADIAN REPORT
(c) By Jim Fox
Politicians suggest
it will be futile to try to convince General Motors to keep its Oshawa, Ontario
plant open beyond a year from now.
The company dropped
a bombshell with the announcement the assembly plant just east of Toronto will
be closing with the loss of about 3,000 jobs.
It’s a devastating
blow to the city of 170,000 people where GM has produced cars and trucks since
1953.
GM said it is one of five plants in Canada
and the U.S. to close as it restructures to cut costs and focus more on
autonomous and electric vehicles.
It’s a “done deal”
and there’s nothing the government can do to change the plan, Ontario Premier
Doug Ford said.
Instead, Ford and
the federal government will work to help the affected workers with extended
jobless benefits and retraining.
Unifor president
Jerry Dias said his union is losing much of its manufacturing to low-cost labor
in Mexico and wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get tough with GM.
He said the union will
put up “the fight of our lives” to keep the plant open.
---
The signing of the
revamped free-trade deal “lifts the risk of serious economic uncertainty that
lingers throughout the trade renegotiation process,” Prime Minister Trudeau
said.
He joined with U.S.
President Donald Trump and outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to
sign the renamed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement at the G20 summit in Buenos
Aires.
It was a largely
ceremonial event as the pact still needs to be ratified by the three countries
before it can formally take effect.
Trudeau is still
fighting to get Trump to remove the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum but
there is a provision to exempt Canada from tariffs on exports of up to
2.6-million vehicles.
---
News in brief:
- Canadian postal
workers are busy clearing a backlog of millions of letters and parcels after
they were ordered to end their rotating strikes. The Canadian government passed
a bill to end the five-week strike as it has been hurting businesses and the
economy in the busiest time of the year. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers
said the law “violates our right to free collective bargaining under the
Charter of Rights and Freedoms” and will fight it.
- Workers are
wondering about their fate as Maple Leaf Foods says it will close its meat
processing plants in Toronto, Brampton and St. Marys and shift production to
London, Ontario. This potentially will put almost 1,500 people out of work as
the company consolidates its poultry operations at a new $660-million plant set
to open in 2021.
---
Facts and figures:
Canada’s dollar is lower
at 75.25 cents U.S. while the U.S. dollar returns $1.328 Canadian before bank exchange
fees.
The Bank of Canada’s
key interest rate is steady at 1.75 percent while the prime-lending rate is 3.95
percent.
Stock markets are mixed, with the Toronto
exchange index up at 15,197 points while the TSX Venture index is down at 589
points.
The average price for gas in Canada is lower at
$1.07 a liter or $4.06 (Canadian) for a U.S. gallon.
Lotto 6/49: (Nov. 28) 3, 17, 21, 29, 47 and 49;
bonus 7. (Nov. 24) 9, 10, 23, 37, 45 and 49; bonus 18. Lotto Max: (Nov. 23) 1,
7, 13, 14, 22, 42 and 48; bonus 47.
---
Regional briefs:
- A Niagara
Regional Police officer was critically wounded after being shot by a fellow
officer during an altercation. Investigators said the two officers were
investigating an impairing driving crash in rural Pelham, Ontario. “There was
an interaction between two of the officers and one of the officers was struck
by a gunshot,” said Monica Hudon of the Special Investigations Unit. The
injured officer was said to be Constable Nathan Parker and the other was Detective
Sergeant Shane Donovan.
- Alberta plans to ban
employers from requiring women to wear high heels at work effective Jan. 1. “Our
government has the back of every worker and we are also looking out for your
feet,” said Labor Minister Christina Gray. Ontario, British Columbia and
Manitoba have earlier taken the steps to ban the shoes.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at canadareport@hotmail.com
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