The Ontario government is asking Ottawa to “disclose the number of foreign workers” it will allow at the Windsor, Ontario, electric vehicle battery gigafactory, which is under construction thanks to $15 billion in taxpayer subsidies.
Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini and Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli have penned a letter calling on the federal government to make public the actual number of foreign workers at the NextStar plant. They also want Ottawa to reveal how many workers will be arriving under federal programs.
“We are extremely concerned about reports of international workers linked to the NextStar project hired under the federal work permitting system,” says the letter, addressed to federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault and federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan.
The request for more information comes after a social media post by Windsor Police last week indicating that 1,600 workers were being brought in from South Korea by NextStar Energy to work at the plant. The figure was announced after city police officials met with South Korean diplomatic staff to discuss the “South Korean workforce coming to our community.”
The post had union leaders and Conservative MPs raising concerns about government subsidies supporting foreign workers.
Up to $10 billion in subsidies from Ottawa and $5 billion from Ontario kick-started the construction this summer on the NextStar Energy electric vehicle battery plant, a joint venture between European carmaker Stellantis and South Korean company LG Energy Solution. The government subsidies were a bid to secure the promised 2,500 jobs that came with the plant’s opening as well as the up to 2,300 local tradespeople who would be needed to help with construction and installation.
In August, the Windsor Star reported that an official with the local economic development agency Invest WindsorEssex said LG expected 600 to 1,000 foreign workers would come to set up the plant’s equipment and an additional 300 to 500 would be needed to run the facility.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault told reporters Nov. 21 that his department had conducted one Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) for a job to be filled by the company if no Canadian applied. He added that “there is no justification that we can see” for the 1,600 foreign worker estimate.
Requesting Clarification
Mr. Piccini and Mr. Fedeli, however, want confirmation of the LMIA provided to NextStar and are asking that all future requests be “carefully” scrutinized to ensure “the interests of Ontario workers are protected.”“While we appreciate the need for a select number of workers with unique skills and intellectual property knowledge” are needed to build the facility, “this must be limited to situations where it is absolutely necessary,” the letter reads.
Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller told reporters Nov. 21 that Canada’s free trade agreement with South Korea means some workers can come and go on business visas or visa-free. He noted that less than 100 people have come into Canada this way. Those who have are here to train staff at the factory.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he spoke with the CEO of Stellantis to ask him to “make sure that we respect not only the letter but also the spirit of our contract with the company, which is to maximize the number of opportunities for Canadians.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is pushing for an inquiry into the matter, saying that no public funding should go to foreign workers.
MPs on the industry committee voted Nov. 21 to study the contract for the electric vehicle battery plant to ensure the subsidies won’t be used to employ foreign workers.
