44th Parl. 1st Sess.

February 15, 2024 10:00AM

Context: House Hansard - 283 - Feb/15/24

Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

Feb/15/24 6:46:20 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to be here tonight and to answer the hon. member for Calgary Rocky Ridge's questions regarding employment at the NextStar battery plant in Windsor. I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the ways in which Canadians will benefit from the partnership with NextStar. NextStar is investing billions of dollars to establish Canada's first large-scale EV battery manufacturing plant in Windsor. This facility will produce leading-edge lithium ion battery cells and modules for Stellantis's vehicle production in North America. Through its investment, NextStar will create a total of 2,300 jobs for Canadians during the construction of the facility and an additional 2,500 permanent jobs for Canadians during the operation of the facility. Beyond the jobs associated with the facility in Windsor, an investment of this size will act as an anchor for further investments across the EV battery supply chain. It will also help secure the new EV mandates at Stellantis's Windsor and Brampton assembly plants. It is correct that during the construction phase of this project, NextStar has indicated they will employ approximately 900 foreign specialists with technical skills needed to install machinery and equipment and to train Canadians. That is in addition to its commitments to create jobs for Canadians. The Liberal government strongly believes that all businesses operating in Canada should prioritize the use of our local workforce. The government will continue to work with NextStar to ensure that it is filling as many jobs as possible through our talented local workforce and that it is minimizing the number of workers employed from outside Canada. However, it is important for the member opposite to remember that this is the first large-scale battery plant in Canada. Most of the machinery and equipment will be imported, as it cannot be sourced domestically. It is normal practice in the manufacturing and automotive sectors that when dealing with imported specialized machinery and equipment, the company supplying the machinery has its own employees complete the installation. This is not only because of proprietary knowledge and warranty issues, but also because it is important to bring new expertise and skills into Canada. Without the use of foreign workers, this investment and others like it would not be possible. The resulting thousands of Canadian jobs would not be created. This is a first of its kind transformational investment that requires expertise that currently resides outside of Canada.

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House Hansard - 283