Ambassador Bridge blockade leaves local autoworkers uneasy
CBC
The head of an auto industry group representing Toyota's three Ontario manufacturing plants says protesters blocking the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor are hurting an industry still working to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It is ironic that the so-called 'freedom convoy' is denying the very freedoms they espouse by preventing businesses from operating, workers from doing their jobs, and individual citizens from going about their day-to-day business," said David Adams, president of the Global Autoworkers of Canada.
Yesterday the blockade of the Windsor-Detroit border crossing entered its fourth day. The blockade is a key reason why production lines at Toyota's three Ontario plants — two in Cambridge, one in Woodstock — were idle this week.
Adams said vehicle manufacturing between the United States and Canada is highly integrated and relies on a sophisticated just-in-time delivery process for parts, which typically are not stored in large quantities at the plants.
"If they can't get parts, it typically does shut down the production lines," said Adams. "Automakers in Canada and the U.S. rely on one another," he said.
In a statement, Toyota said the company is dealing with parts shortages at all three plants. However, the company says for now, those shortages won't result in any staff reductions, even with vehicle production on hold.
The situation was still a cause for concern for workers on a break at the Woodstock plant on Thursday.
Michael Aspen has worked at the plant for two years.
"I think all of us want to go back to normal work, so I hope this gets figured out soon," he said. "It's definitely stressful."
Mike VanBoekel is the plant chair of the Unifor local that represents 1,700 workers at CAMI in Ingersoll, Ont. At the GM plant, CAMI is in the process of transitioning to electric vehicle production. For now, production hasn't been disrupted, but that can change suddenly.
"[The protests] could affect us really quickly," said VanBoekel. "If we run out of parts, they'll shut us down and if there's no work, you get sent home. But hopefully, it gets resolved very quickly."
The CAMI plant is already scheduled to stop production in the last week of April to re-tool for electric vehicle production, a process that could take seven months. Until that happens, VanBoekel said it's important for workers that production lines continue to operate to avoid shutdowns or layoffs.
"Our guys shouldn't be out of work just because these people are holding up traffic on the bridge," he said. "At our plant, you either get vaccinated, or you stay home without pay."
Some industry groups and the City of Windsor were seeking a court injunction on Thursday to end the blockade at the bridge.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.
The union president called it a rally for solidarity as Iqaluit Housing Authority employees gathered Friday while negotiations are ongoing between the Nunavut Employees Union and the employer.
The federal government is stoking Quebec separatism by walking back its climate commitments — including in its recent deal with Alberta — Liberal MP and former cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault says.
Four more Alberta MLAs are facing recall petitions organized by their constituents, including the first NDP representative to be caught in the province's ongoing wave of recall efforts.
Frank Gehry, the Canadian-born renegade architect behind some of the world's most recognizable buildings, has died at 96.
Hundreds of P.E.I. parents can't find child-care spaces, especially for infants. The provincial government says expanding those spots remains a top priority — and it recognizes the concern.
An Alberta judge says a referendum proposal on Alberta separating from Canada goes against Charter and and Treaty rights, in a decision given less than 24 hours after the provincial government introduced legislation that would have ended the court proceeding.