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Citing the urgency to stop U.S. President Joe Biden from implementing policy measures that unfairly and severely damage Canada’s economy, Unifor National President Jerry Dias chaired the first meeting of Ontario’s new U.S. Trade and Industry Competitiveness Council today.
“We will not let U.S legislators jeopardize thousands of Ontario jobs, and fixing this will require a coordinated effort from all of us, from several sectors of the economy to defend against U.S. isolationist measures that will only hurt workers,” said Dias, after opening the first virtual council meeting, January 24, 2022.
Dias says the first order of business is to convince the Biden administration to ensure the U.S. does not exclude Canadian-built vehicles from any planned consumer electric vehicle rebate policy. Such a policy would hurt both Canadian and American workers, cause significant damage to Ontario’s growing EV sector, and end decades of cross-border co-operation.
“Every member of this council understands that vehicles assembled in Canada contain U.S. components and vice-versa, so our vehicles must not be disqualified under Biden’s ‘Build Back Better’ plan because our auto industries are so tightly integrated,” continued Dias.
The council is also concerned ongoing U.S. trade attacks will continue to threaten other key industries important to the Ontario economy, including softwood lumber, steel, and agriculture sectors and more.
Dias was appointed to lead the council last month by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to provide advice and recommendations on the provincial government’s ongoing efforts to fight for Ontario’s interests in Washington. The council will work with Canadian and U.S. business leaders and federal and state officials, especially in bordering states where existing supply chains are inextricably integrated with Ontario industries.
The council is co-ordinating lobby meetings to begin in the coming weeks.
Dias thanked the ten other council members, who he called leaders with “proven track records for finding real solutions to complicated problems.” Dias worked with Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade to select the council members:
- David Adams - President, Global Automakers of Canada
- Catherine Cobden - President & CEO, Canadian Steel Producers Association
- George Gilvesy - Director and Chair, Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers
- Maryscott “Scotty” Greenwood, CEO, Canadian American Business Council
- Goldy Hyder - President & CEO, Business Council of Canada
- Brian Kingston - President & CEO, Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association
- Craig McInnes - President, Teamsters Local Union 938 and member of the Teamsters Canada Executive Board
- Veso Sobot – Former Director, Corporate Affairs at IPEX Management Inc.
- Flavio Volpe - CEO, Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association
- Michael Willick - President, M. L. Willick & Associates Ltd.
