Federal budget lacks ‘direct support’ for auto workers: Unifor local president

Officials and workers in the automotive sector say they're concerned targeted support wasn't made available in the federal budget.

As MPs get ready to vote on the federal budget, those in the auto sector say they’re concerned it fails to meet the needs of workers in the industry.

The budget did include some aspects that auto sector officials noted can be helpful, such as the productivity super deduction to make it cheaper for businesses to invest in equipment, but they said there isn’t enough targeted on sectors heavily hit by U.S. tariffs.

“The budget encompasses very large projects and really is lacking in direct support for autoworkers being affected by these tariffs,” said Jeff Gray, president of Unifor Local 222, which represents more than 8,000 active workers including those at Oshawa’s General Motors facility. The union also represents approximately 13,000 retired workers as well.

Gray said he was pleased by recent federal action that saw Ottawa cut how many U.S. vehicles Stellantis and GM could import tariff-free, but he said he wants to see more direct support for laid-off autoworkers.

Prime Minister Mark Carney’s budget included the previously-announced Strategic Response Fund aimed at providing tariff-affected sectors to access funding to allow them to realign to new markets. The fund also says will support impacted workers through a “major reskilling effort.”

This is a concern for Gray, though, who told Global News the “last thing” he wants to see is retraining for auto workers, saying direct financial support is what’s truly needed.

“Once you’re out of this sector, a lot of our members don’t have  skills that can transition into other sectors,” he said. “So we do not want to see an emphasis on retraining or action centres, but rather direct financial supports for workers if they are indeed laid off to help them cope through the layoff to a point where we can get manufacturing and the auto sector back on its feet and it’s back into a hiring position again.”

He added the support is needed with approximately 700 employees at the Oshawa GM plant to be laid off when the company cuts its third shift in January.