THUNDER BAY — Union officials say it's “great news” the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) has been given the go-ahead on pursuing a new single-source contract for new Line 2 subway trains with Alstom Transport Canada.
As part of the contract, the federal and provincial governments, alongside the City of Toronto, will jointly fund the base procurement of 70 six-car train sets, 55 trains to replace aging trains on Line 2 and 15 trains for the Yonge North and Scarborough extensions.
It would also include options to procure additional trains to meet future needs when funding is committed and subject to Alstom’s performance, according to a news release issued by the TTC on Friday.
“This is what the union's been lobbying for a couple of years now and finally we had the announcement and it's exactly kind of what we wanted to hear… Alstom got the contract,” said Justin Roberts, the Unifor Local 1075 president.
If given about the same scope of work that they had the last time they worked on this contract and it's a substantial amount, Roberts said it can employ almost 400 to 500 members alone on that one line.
However, there is still debate on which plant these subway trains will be manufactured at.
The announcement was made only that Alstom has a contract, Roberts said, adding that Alstom has two main facilities in Ontario, the Thunder Bay site and one in Kingston.
“The union's going to be fighting hard to make sure that final assembly is done here in Thunder Bay again (and) as long as the bulk of the work and a lot of the spinoff jobs we want to be in Thunder Bay and the surrounding area,” Roberts said.
Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski has also advocated on the issue on multiple different levels through discussions with the TTC, Ontario government and most importantly, he said pushing the government.
“I think there is almost uniformity of opinion that we want as much of the work as possible done in Canada and in Thunder Bay, but you have to cross the Ts, dot the Is and get the legalities right and that's what's taken a bit of time,” Powlowski said, adding that it had to be formally approved.
Many people have said that the trains would be made in Thunder Bay, he added, including Chrystia Freeland, Ontario premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, but ultimately, it's for Alstom and Alstom is a business, so they have to make the decisions.
“My talks with them they've certainly indicated a willingness and an eagerness to have most of the work done in Thunder Bay,” Powlowski said.
Powlowski said he would also certainly like to see the majority of the manufacturing done and final assembly in Thunder Bay.
“I know for those of us who grew up in Thunder Bay, unfortunately there's a cyclical nature of hiring and layoffs, but that plant's a big part of our history and really with this contract that will ensure the ongoing viability of that plant going into the future and will result in a substantial number of well-paying jobs in Thunder Bay,” Powlowski said.
However, this is something that he believes will play out in the upcoming talks between Alstom and TTC when they negotiate a price and exactly what they're getting.
“I think certainly all levels of government would like to maximize Canadian content. But having said that, when you maximize Canadian content, it probably means the price is going to be higher,” Powlowski said, referencing how outsourcing work can be cheaper.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Kevin Holland has also met regularly with the Alstom’s management and union since being elected. He said they’ve worked with them to ensure that they had a continuity of work at the plant to retain those workers.
“I'm very pleased that the TCC has announced the cancellation of the (request for proposals) RFP process and this decision allows them to begin negotiating with Alstom on the $2.3 billion contract ensuring this important work for a local plant here in Thunder Bay,” Holland said, adding that the announcement builds on the $500 million contract awarded to Alstom in February.
The announcement from TTC is that vital first step to moving forward towards that single source procurement process for the new TTC line to cars in Toronto, which for him he said was “huge.”
While not all components are manufactured on site, the assembly and the manufacturing of the cars themselves from all the news releases that he has heard and the information he has received will be focused in Thunder Bay.
Ultimately, Holland said workers are all looking forward to getting back into the manufacturing work, but like all businesses, Alstom has to make a decision as to ensure the security and the viability of their business moving forward.
Negotiations are expected to occur over the next few months with a report back to the TTC Board on the status of negotiations by the end of the year.
“They're just going to iron out the final details of where the major components will be assembled, whether it's the Thunder Bay plant, Kingston site, all those kind of fine details that go in with the planning of a major contract like this,” Roberts said.
Although it feels great, he added that they're not there yet.
“We're definitely a lot closer and to see that all three levels of government again supported this and supported the sole sourcing as well as the TTC, this is great news. Great news for us. It's great news for Alstom. It's great news for the province,” Roberts said.
