THUNDER BAY – Mayor Bill Mauro has sent a letter to Premier Doug Ford, urging the Ontario government to maintain Canadian content requirements in its subway procurements.
Mauro, who as a Liberal MPP helped usher in Canadian content legislation to help protect companies like Bombardier, said he’s concerned the multi-national company’s Thunder Bay plant could be in jeopardy once its latest round of contracts are up, potentially affecting as many as 1,200 high-paid employees.
The province recently announced plans to upload responsibility of Toronto’s subway system and Mauro reminded Ford, whose office has acknowledged the letter, that Bombardier is Thunder Bay’s largest private-sector employer that helps drive the local economy and the quality of life of the city’s residents.
“We all understand and appreciate how important Bombardier is to the local economy. We all are aware that we’re close to seeing the end of contract work at the plant, so we’re all very concerned,” Mauro said, explaining his decision to send a letter to Ford.
“We have sent a number of letters, we have had a number of conversations with the provincial government around the importance of Bombardier and the workforce to the economy. This was just one more example of outreach by us, and others doing the same thing, to try to reinforce how important this is to our economy here in Thunder Bay.”
Mauro said both Ford and his minister of economic development are aware of the issues.
The previous Liberal government required at least 25 per cent Canadian manufacturing content in order to provide funding for mass transit projects, which Mauro said often led to 50 and 60 per cent Canadian content. But a recent Via Rail contract was fully awarded to a German company and the trains will be manufactured in the United States, a country that has recently upped its American-made content requirements under the watch of President Donald Trump.
Mauro’s letter indicated that as recently as 2015 Bombardier had a network of more than 500 Ontario-based suppliers that benefited workers not only in Thunder Bay, but also Mississauga, Markham, London, Hamilton and Toronto.
He added he sees opportunity to continue existing contracts with both the Toronto Transit Commission and Metrolix for up to 231 more trains.
Mauro also noted he’s spoken with Toronto Mayor John Tory recently, who indicated plans for mass transit upgrades and expansion, work the Thunder Bay’s mayor believes Bombardier is perfectly suited to undertake.
