Cars pass along the assembly line at the Stellantis plant in Brampton, July, 2023.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
The federal government has notified automaker Stellantis NV its decision to shift production plans to Illinois from Brampton, Ont., is a breach of the taxpayer-funding contract the two sides reached in 2022.
Industry Minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday that Ottawa has served the automaker with a notice of default related to jobs and a funding agreement for the plant northwest of Toronto.
The move comes after a 30-day period of talks between the two sides over the future of the factory, which employed more than 3,000 people before it closed for retooling two years ago.
In 2022, the federal government gave up to $529-million to the automaker for work on plants in Brampton and Windsor, Ont., and a research facility in Windsor. Retooling on the Brampton factory stopped in February of this year, shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to place tariffs on imported cars.
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In October, Stellantis said it would make the Jeep Compass in Belvidere, Ill., not Brampton, as part of a plan to boost U.S. output by 50 per cent over four years.
Ms. Joly, speaking at a parliamentary committee on international trade on Thursday, said the funding for the Brampton plant came with commitments to create employment.
“What I can tell you is that there’s a job guarantee,” she said. “There was a link between the new funding that was given to create new jobs in Windsor [and the] Brampton plant.”
“We can’t open that floodgate of basically our automakers leaving the country,” she said. “We’re all fighting for the 125,000 jobs in the auto sector.”
Teresa Piruzza, director of external affairs and public policy at Stellantis Canada, appears before the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, in Ottawa.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
At a separate parliamentary committee hearing on Thursday, Stellantis Canada’s director of external affairs denied the automaker had violated its agreement by shifting work to the United States. “We do not believe we are in breach of contract,” Teresa Piruzza said. “We are honouring our commitment.”
Ms. Piruzza said the Brampton plant is on a pause and not closed. There are talks with the Ontario and federal governments about support for a new product there, she said. She noted the Windsor plant is adding a third production shift of 1,500 workers based on the retooling aided by government support.