November 26, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ottawa, ON – Local MP Jamie Schmale was shocked to learn that General Motors announced a global reorganization, which will affect the jobs of over 2,500 Canadian workers and their families. The move will have far reaching consequences as thousands of jobs in related industries, such as auto part manufacturing and customer support, are now at risk.
GM Canada is responsible for directly employing 4,856 people in Oshawa. Many of these employees commute from several communities across Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock. In addition, GM Canada pensions support approximately 30,300 hourly retirees and 7,000 salary retirees.
“I am gravely concerned for the thousands of workers and their families who are now receiving this news and are coming to terms with how this will impact their lives,” said Schmale. “As such, my Conservative colleagues led the call for an emergency debate in the House of Commons and I’m extremely thankful to the Speaker for granting this request.”
“We are not prepared to give up on the people employed by General Motors and we intend to press the Liberals for a plan on how they will respond to the thousands of people out of work and how they will protect remaining manufacturing jobs in Ontario,” said Schmale.
“Now, more than ever, we know that if we don’t fight for these jobs today, they won’t come back tomorrow,” said Schmale. “To that end, we need to push to increase investment attractiveness in Canada, in order to create a business-friendly environment for future generations.”
“For a century, GM workers have contributed to the economy of Ontario and bettered their communities as coaches, volunteer firefighters and neighbourhood leaders.”
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For more information contact:
Jamie Schmale, MP
(705) 324-2400 or (866) 688-9881
