he also bluntly dismissed the notion that the koreans are taking canadians jobs.
“as far as taking jobs, absolutely not,” cassidy said.
“today on the job site, there’s about 1,000 skilled trades putting the building together. that’s going to go to over 2,000 as we start to install the equipment in this facility.
“we can’t fulfill the obligations right now (to retool stellantis’s windsor assembly plant). we have people right now in windsor, who we call travellers, because we don’t have enough ironworkers, millwrights etc.
“this is not taking jobs. it’s a temporary install.”
kusmierczyk said the fact the prime minister spent over half an hour discussing the nextstar issue signals the importance of the project to the government.
he added making the nextstar contract public would undermine the canadian government’s position as a trustworthy partner on future investments.
prime minister justin trudeau shakes the hand of unifor local 444 president dave cassidy in his office on parliament hill on wednesday november 29, 2023.
adam scotti
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office of the prime minister of canada
“we don’t need to give companies reasons not to invest in canada,” said kusmierczyk, who added trudeau re-emphasized the liberals’ commitment to the project and maximizing the number of canadian jobs.
“if we continue the circus, continue the misinformation and the notion of making the contracts fully public, we risk these investments.”