South Koreans are eligible to work at NextStar EV factory under Harper-era free trade deal

Hundreds of South Koreans expected to work at the NextStar EV battery factory in Windsor, Ont., are legally eligible to work in Canada under a 2015 free trade agreement negotiated and implemented by Stephen Harper's former Conservative government.

Concerns were raised about foreign workers coming to Canada when a social media post by Windsor Police suggested up to 1,600 South Koreans would require accommodations during their employment at the facility.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the news by demanding a "full inquiry into how many of these taxpayer-funded jobs are going to temporary foreign workers," saying the $15 billion in federal support for the facility should only fund jobs for Canadians. 

Four Liberal ministers tried to calm tensions around the issue Tuesday, explaining that the South Koreans are eligible to work in Canada under labour mobility provisions contained in the free trade agreement that came into force shortly before Poilievre was named employment minister in 2015.

"We do have a free trade agreement with South Korea. And under Article 186 of that agreement, people do come and go on business visas, or visa-free, and they can stay if they are within the ambit of the reasons why they're here," Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters after a federal cabinet meeting Tuesday. "If they're not, the [Canada Border Services Agency] will investigate."

Miller said so far, fewer than 100 people have entered Canada under these auspices, and these workers have been "training people up."

"Not a single Canadian job has been paused or will be affected by this, but people do come and go as part of our free trade agreement with South Korea, just like Canadian businesses get the same benefit when they're in South Korea," Miller said.

The temporary entry for businesspersons provisions in the bilateral trade agreement that took effect Jan. 1, 2015 are reciprocal – meaning companies from both countries can take advantage in each other's jurisdictions. 

Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault's office has maintained that so far it's only authorized one temporary foreign worker for the facility in Windsor.

That explanation holds, now that Miller has clarified that the 1,600 South Korea's ambassador to Canada floated recently might not need temporary foreign worker permits if they are business people making use of the trade agreement's entitlements.

"There's a difference between a temporary foreign worker that comes here for a specific amount of time and a foreign worker that comes in through immigration … to help with that technology transfer," Boissonnault told reporters.

Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Tuesday that he spoke to the CEO of Stellantis in the United States on Monday. The NextStar plant is a joint venture between the American carmaker and LG Energy Solution, a South Korean leader in electric battery technology.

"I asked him to take action and to ensure that we respect not only the letter but the spirit of our contract with the company, which is to maximize the number of opportunities for Canadians," Champagne said, adding that on Monday the CEO of the joint venture issued a statement clarifying it still intended to honour its commitment to employ 2,500 at the plant, as well as create about 2,000 construction jobs for Canadians.

"The equipment installation phase of the project requires additional temporary specialized global supplier staff who have proprietary knowledge and specialized expertise that is critical to the successful construction and launch of Canada's first large-scale battery manufacturing facility," Danies Lee, CEO of NextStar Energy, said in the statement.