Automotive News Canada - April 2022 - 8

8
* APRIL 2022
It's now a three-way contest for Unifor's top job
Payne pledges to 'rebuild
trust' in the union's
leadership in the wake
of the Jerry Dias scandal
BY DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
UNIFOR SECRETARY-TREASURER
Lana Payne has entered the race to
replace former President Jerry Dias as
head of Canada's largest private sector
union.
Payne, who has overseen the union's
financial affairs since being elected secretary-treasurer
in 2019, is among Unifor's
highest-ranking officers.
She sits on the National Executive
Board (NEB) and is one of four members
of the union's current elected leadership
team, following Dias' abrupt retirement
March 11.
Before being elected secretary-treasurer,
Payne served as Unifor's Atlantic
Payne: Unifor
requires a
leader that can
rebuild " the
confidence
needed for the
many fights
ahead. "
FILE PHOTO
director. She has
spent more than 30
years in the labour
realm, joining the
Fish, Food and Allied
Workers union -
then affiliated with
the Canadian Auto
Workers - in 1991.
Payne announced
her candidacy via
Facebook on April 12.
" These past months
have been difficult,
but they have also
given me a new sense
of resolve about the
future of our union
and the kind of leadership
we will need to
redress the hurt, rebuild trust and build
the hope and confidence we will need to
take on the many fights ahead, " she said.
Payne joins the race with Scott Doherty,
executive assistant to Unifor's national
president, and Dave Cassidy, president of
Unifor Local 444, which represents workOn
auto strategy,
the provinces aren't
waiting for Ottawa
They're willing to help
with a national plan
while making their
own, provincially
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
PROVINCES WITH LONG-ESTABLISHED
or growing automotive footprints are prepared
to work with Ottawa on a
national automotive strategy. But
as new and old risks threaten the
sector, the federal government
remains in no hurry to map out a
standalone plan for the industry.
" By and large, [economic development]
is a provincial right, "
said Pierre Fitzgibbon, Quebec's
minister of economy and innovation.
" But given the size of the
file in the case of automotive, it
makes sense to have a national
umbrella. "
Fitzgibbon stressed the need to
define early what an automotive
strategy would look to achieve.
It is one thing to " put together
PowerPoints, " he said, and another
to execute.
Faced with resurgent protectionist
policies in the United
States and new risks tied to the
transition to electric vehicles,
the Canadian auto sector saw
renewed calls for unity as 2021
drew to a close.
knit group " Ford told Automotive News
Canada in December at the annual
conference of the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers'Association. " We all stick
together. We're strong believers [in a] team
Canada approach. "
As the most populous province, Ontario
would be ready to lead the way on a strategy
as well, Ford said. Currently, Ontario is
forging ahead on its own, working to help
its assembly plants secure mandates to produce
EVs as well as actively courting businesses
looking to establish battery plants
or battery mineral mining or
processing operations in the
province.
Quebec's Pierre
Fitzgibbon
says economic
development
" is a provincial
right. ... But
given the size
of the file in
the case of
automotive, it
makes sense to
have a national
umbrella. "
PHOTO: FACEBOOK
In Ontario, the country's traditional
auto powerhouse, Premier Doug Ford said
the province is ready to stand with others
and work with Parliament Hill on an auto
strategy.
" We have a great relationship with
all the premiers, and we're a closePROVINCES
IN A RACE
The economic development
teams in Quebec, along
with those in other jurisdictions
across North America, are
focused on similar goals.
" This is a race, " Fitzgibbon
said. Canadian provinces are
already going head-to-head, he
said, creating one significant hurdle
to collaboration.
While Quebec is likely to
remain focused on its growing
commercial vehicle footprint -
as opposed to encroaching on
Ontario's established consumer
vehicle assembly industry -
both look to get into batteries,
Fitzgibbon said. If Ottawa were to
map out an auto strategy, he said,
it would need to steer clear when
provinces were competing for
investment dollars.
" You're going to have some provinces
chasing the same rabbit, so to speak, so
obviously it becomes difficult for the federal
government, " he said.
The move away from gasoline and diesel
is also creating opportunities in provinces
less known for automotive.
Ravi Kahlon,
British Columbia's minister of jobs, economic
recovery and innovation, said West
Coast businesses working on technology
for electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
have put the province
on the automotive map
in recent years.
" We have a whole
host of other companies
that are coming
through in that space,
and so we do see B.C.
starting to play a bigger
and bigger role, "
Kahlon said.
B.C.'s Ravi
Kahlon says
the province
is playing " a
bigger role "
of its own but
would help
assist a national
auto strategy.
PHOTO:
GOVERNMENT
OF BRITISH
COLUMBIA
To support a growing
list of upstarts,
B.C. has launched
advanced-manufacturing
grant programs
and is developing its
own industrial manufacturing
strategy that
will help the province
build a footprint in the
auto sector.
B.C. would be ready
to work with Ottawa on a national auto
strategy, Kahlon said.
" We don't think that we'll necessarily be
competing with Ontario and the way that
they have their manufacturing, " he said.
" But we think there's a lot of opportunities
in the space ... so we think we could have a
big place in a strategy if it were to be developed. "
Manitoba
is eager to expand its auto
manufacturing industry as well.
Cliff Cullen, minister of economic development,
investment and trade, said the
province supports a national auto strategy
that focuses on topics such as supply chain
development, green transportation and
autonomous vehicles.
" Our province has a unique cluster
of industry-leading manufacturers of
ers at Stellantis' assembly
plant in Windsor,
Ont.. They declared in
February they would
run to replace Dias.
Dias had been
expected to retire at
Unifor's constitutional
convention in August,
but he went on leave
Feb. 6 and retired a
month later, citing
medical issues.
On March 23, alongside
Unifor's three
Scott Doherty, left, and Dave
Cassidy are also vying to replace
Jerry Dias. FILE PHOTO
regional directors, Payne detailed NEB
allegations that Dias accepted $50,000
from a supplier of COVID-19 test kits that
he had helped promote to Unifor employers
in December 2021 and January 2022.
The NEB plans to hold a hearing, pending
Dias' health. The former union leader said
March 23 he was entering rehabilitation
for addiction.
The Toronto Police Service said April 5
its Financial Crimes Unit was investigating
the former labour leader.
Dias' departure will
also force the union
to hold a special convention
to fill the
vacant president role
ahead of the planned
vote in August. The
union, which represents
315,000 workers
in Canada, including
about 40,000 at auto
parts suppliers and
vehicle assembly plants,
as of press time had not
yet released details on
how or when the vote will be held.
Payne's entry into the race disrupts the
NEB's earlier endorsement of Doherty.
On April 12, Doherty said he asked
the NEB to remove its endorsement as a
result of Payne's declaration.
" I felt making this request was in the
best interest of our National Executive
Board and membership, " Doherty said in
a statement posted to Twitter. Unifor confirmed
April 12 the NEB has withdrawn its
endorsement of Doherty. - ANC
ILLUSTRATION
FROM ISTOCK PHOTOS
heavy-duty vehicles
and equipment, which
includes North America's largest bus
manufacturer, " Cullen wrote in an emailed
statement.
FED'S PLAN SHORT ON SPECIFICS
Despite the willingness of provinces to
work collaboratively, the federal government
remains focused on its broader plan
for Canadian manufacturing. It includes
financial backing for automotive, yet no
industry-specific road map.
The Department of
Innovation, Science
and Industry would
not make Minister
François-Philippe
Champagne available
for an interview
but said all of Canada
stands to benefit from
EV manufacturing.
" There are opportunities
throughout
the automotive supply
chain that could
be implemented in
all regions of Canada,
from critical mineral
extraction to processing,
to battery manufacturing,
electric-vehicle
production and
recycling, " the department
wrote in an
emailed statement.
On whether it would
work to establish a
national auto strategy,
GOVERNMENT
OF MANITOBA
the department was vague. It said the government's
Innovation and Skills Plan provides
a " clear strategic vision for action "
on auto sector transformation. That plan,
released in 2017, includes broad goals and
funding for advanced manufacturing but
no strategy catered to automotive. - ANC
Manitoba's Cliff
Cullen says
the province
supports
a national
strategy, but has
its own " unique
cluster of
industry-leading
manufacturers
of heavy-duty
vehicles and
equipment. "
PHOTO:
Automotive News Canada - April 2022

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