Thoughts on BC Politics and More

Confidential government deals worth billions of dollars to help fund a Stellantis-backed electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor, Ont., carry dozens of conditions that, if violated, give federal officials the power to end the agreements and even force repayment in some cases, according to copies obtained by CBC Windsor. It is unclear, however, if the contracts contain guarantees related to the company’s broader footprint in Canada, as elected officials have claimed. Some portions of the documents are redacted, so the full terms of the agreements are unknown ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday his government is not considering hitting American goods with more retaliatory tariffs, even as the trade war rages on, because there are signs that the bilateral talks on relief are headed in the right direction. Carney is facing pressure from some premiers, like Ontario's Doug Ford, and organized labour to take on U.S. President Donald Trump as he ramps up his tariffs on critical sectors — levies that have drawn jobs and investment away from Canada. His comments come days after Stellantis announced it would produce its Jeep Compass in Illinois, rather than at the automaker's Brampton, Ontario, plant — a decision that the prime minister called "a direct consequence" of U.S. trade actions ... CLICK HERE for the full story 

With Canada’s electric vehicle industry stalling this week, some are worried the sector may experience a full-scale power outage in the months ahead ... ... Honda’s decision to take a reported two-year break on its $15-billion investment in Ontario, which was to include multiple EV battery plants and a made-in-Canada supply chain, has caused some industry watchers to re-evaluate other large scale Canadian EV projects from Stellantis and Volkswagen. Raz says 2025 has seen a sluggish start to EV sales, adding the shutdown of the federal government’s EV rebate program hasn’t helped sales ... CLICK HERE for the full story

A handful of temporary workers from South Korea have arrived in Windsor to staff up a new Stellantis electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant, according to officials with the Ontario government, raising concerns that massive taxpayer subsidies could be used to employ international auto workers over Canadians ... Questions began swirling, however, after temporary foreign workers from South Korea started arriving in the city with indications that more than a thousand international workers could be landing in Windsor in 2024 ... ... “With the new LGEnergy Solutions battery plant being built, we expect approximately 1,600 South Koreans traveling to work and live in our community in 2024" ... CLICK HERE for the full story

It is deeply concerning that the Minister would suggest a five-year timeline for recovering this investment when the actual timeline is much longer In May of this year, I mentioned the announcement from the Trudeau Liberal Government that Volkswagen would receive "up to $13 billion in subsidies over the next decade" to ensure that the automaker builds its electric-vehicle battery plant in southern Ontario. I also referred to the report by the business analyst firm Statista, which stated that Volkswagen's operating profit in the 2022 fiscal year had increased by approximately 14.78 % from the previous year, reaching around 22.1 billion Euros. Shortly after news of the Volkswagen deal became public, Stellantis-LG Energy Solutions (LGES), another electric vehicle battery manufacturer, demanded similar treatment. Like Volkswagen, LGES had obtained a subsidy deal of up to  $15 billion  between the Federal and Ontario provincial governments. At the time, our fe...