The federal government is escalating its fight with automotive giant Stellantis over the company’s decision to move some production to the U.S., despite receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in Canadian taxpayer incentives in recent years.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday that the government will serve Stellantis with a notice of default under the funding contracts related to projects in both Windsor and Brampton, Ont.
The move, which Joly announced while speaking before the House of Commons’ international trade committee, comes amid the ongoing fallout from Stellantis’s revelation in October that it’s scrapping plans to build a Jeep model at its Brampton plant, leaving the roughly 3,000 workers there without a vehicle to build — at least for now.
“When it comes to protecting auto jobs, we will not let these industries down,” Joly said in opening remarks. “We’ll stand firm for the sake of our workers, our industries and our nation because defending these jobs means defending Canada’s economic backbone and the livelihoods of countless families.”
Last month, Joly said the government had initiated a formal dispute resolution process with Stellantis as a result of the company’s decision.
Stellantis has received at least $222 million under the deal to re-tool both the Brampton and Windsor plants. NextStar Energy, a joint venture between Stellantis and South Korean battery company LG Energy Solution, has also received more than $530 million in federal funding in recent years.
Joly has maintained that those contracts included job guarantees for Brampton, but not all of the agreements have been made public.
Stellantis has insisted that it has not shuttered the Brampton plant and that it’s working with the government and other partners “to find viable solutions” for the facility.
At a separate parliamentary hearing Thursday, a Stellantis executive said she was not aware of Joly’s announcement. “We do not agree that we are in breach of contract,” said Teresa Piruzza, director of external affairs and public policy at FCA Canada Inc., the Canadian arm of Stellantis.
More to come.
