Dear Neighbours and Friends,
The terrible news that broke from Stellantis on Friday was a gut punch for Windsor Assembly Plant workers and their families as well as for our entire community. Our community, as we always do, has rallied together. I wanted to provide you with a quick update from our office.
On Friday and again on Monday, I spoke with Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy to listen and also to convey that our government stands with our auto workers, has their backs and is fully engaged finding a solution to the microchip shortage.
Right away on Friday I reached out to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, the Minister of Innovation and Industry Francois-Philippe Champagne, and to the Minister of Employment Carla Qualtrough.
I spoke at length with the Deputy Prime Minister on Sunday and Minister Champagne on Monday, and both assured me that they are working with global partners to find a solution to the microchip shortage.
In the meantime, constituents have asked what the microchip shortage is about. In short, almost every piece of technology we have - be it laptops, phones, washing machines - has microchips to make them go. A car can have hundreds of microchips depending on it's equipment - over a thousand if it is electric.
Three things happened during COVID that created a perfect storm that disrupted the microchip business:
The microchip shortage has impacted all industries - but it has been especially damaging to the automotive sector which is expected to see about $200 billion of automotive production wiped out around the world.
What next?
Among the many hard lessons of COVID, we've learned just how fragile our global supply chains can be, and there is a very concerted effort by companies and governments to strengthen those supply chains and make them more resilient - whether that is vaccines, PPE, battery manufacturing or microchips.
Building domestic manufacturing capacity is so critical, and you'll hear me beat that drum a thousand times a day. At the same time, as with vaccines, building domestic capacity takes years and does not address short-term shortages. And so as with our successful vaccine procurement, it is about leveraging global partnerships to secure microchip supply as production ramps up.
This is an issue of critical importance to Windsor-Essex, and it is one I have been pressing in Ottawa and will continue to press in Ottawa.
In August, I organized a meeting in Windsor between Deputy Prime Minister Freeland and Unifor Presidents Dave Cassidy and John D'Agnolo. We spent close to an hour talking about microchips, the need to strengthen supply chains and the need for an industrial policy designed to take advantage of the historic transition that is taking place globally towards a green economy.
In September, Prime Minister Trudeau was in Windsor for a press conference. After the event, I had a chance to speak privately with the Prime Minister, and the conversation focused entirely on microchips and supply chains, as well as investment in auto manufacturing in Windsor.
Our government is at the table with Stellantis on the $1.5 billion commitment to build electric vehicles at Windsor Assembly Plant that will bring back the 2nd and 3rd shifts. We are also at the table with battery manufacturers pursuing historic investment that could bring thousands more jobs to our community.
Though the industry expects the microchip shortage to ease in 2022, rest assured our government is fully engaged on this critical issue for our community, and I am working hard with partners both locally and in Ottawa to support our auto workers and our community
Irek Kusmierczyk
