The Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) reiterates its demand for the federal government to nationalize General Motors putting General Motors Canada under public ownership and democratic control.
The CPC(O) endorses the Green Jobs Oshawa campaign that calls for the conversion of the Oshawa plant for the creation of sustainable community wealth. The research being developed at GM’s Markham research facility can be used to build electric cars in the Oshawa plant.
General Motors, which had received up to $11 billion dollars from the federal and provincial governments during the global financial crisis of 2008-9, is now building enormous plants. It announced, however, that is was shuttering the Oshawa plant by the end of 2019. This means the loss of 2,300 jobs in the plant, and a total of 15,000 jobs across the province. The loss for the City of Oshawa, where the plant had been operating for over 100 years, will be devastating.
While Unifor managed to reach an agreement with GM to preserve a stamping plant and 200 jobs in the Oshawa facility, that is hardly sufficient to preserve car manufacturing in the province, one of the pillars of the Ontario economy. On the same day GM announced a similar deal for one of its plants being shuttered in Detroit.
With layoffs being announced at Ford in Oakville, and the recent announcement that the 1,500 jobs at Fiat Chrysler in Windsor are only safe till April 2020, after its merger with Pugeot of France, the future of auto manufacturing is a major concern for the working class of this province.
The people of Oshawa are resisting the attack of the multinational corporations on their economic and social living conditions. The Green Jobs Oshawa campaign calls for the production of environmental electric cars. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers endorses the campaign as its Delivering Community Power campaign calls for the production of electric vehicles to deliver parcels and letters through its 6,500 postal outlets across Canada.
A feasibility study states that an initial government investment from $1.4 – 1.9 billion could break even after four years, and bring a profit to the Canadian taxpayers in its fifth year. It would create 2000 production jobs (600 in parts plants) and a total of over 10,000 multiplier jobs. Carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 400,000 metric tons by year five.
Additionally, public ownership and democratic control of Bombardier in Thunder Bay could produce mass transit vehicles for the country, and facilitate the rapid expansion of publicly-owned mass transit. Bombardier is laying off 500 workers at the end of the year, once its delivery of street cars to Toronto has been finished.
The Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) calls for Canada to withdraw from corporate-driven “free trade” deals such as the USMCA (NAFTA 2.0), CETA, TPP and all other such deals, and to develop genuine trade with all countries based on equality and solidarity. It calls on labour, environmental and peoples’ movements to mobilize for the nationalization of GM supported by the people of Oshawa.
Special Resolution of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of Canada (Ontario) November 17, 2019.
