I have to agree with this one. The blonde bombshell is acting a little too publicly self-righteous...
Melanie Joly playing a dangerous game with Stellantis
Joly, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s industry minister, is acting like a bull in a china shop in the way she is dealing with Stellantis. It’s alienating people in the company and across the industry while making the wider business community question working with the Carney government.
At a news conference held at an auto parts plant near Toronto on Friday, Joly essentially
threatened the entire Stellantis operation over the sale of the Brampton plant.
“Documents are clear, contracts also are clear. The Brampton facility of Stellantis is linked to the Windsor plant and also the battery investments, and that’s why I said, and I continue to say, that Stellantis is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars,” Joly said.
She sounds like a mob boss issuing a warning: “Nice factory you got there, would be a pity if anything were to happen to it.”
Threats won’t build cars
Here’s the problem.
Documents obtained by
CBC show Stellantis is likely not in violation of its agreement to keep the Brampton plant open until 2035.
The documents specifically state the company is not in violation of the agreement if the plant becomes commercially unviable due to circumstances beyond its control, provided it can show that it took “all reasonable commercial efforts to secure alternative mandates.”
The company has been in talks with the union and the government for a year trying to find a solution. It hasn’t found a solution that would make producing a new vehicle line in Brampton commercially viable.
And that’s where Joly’s argument starts to fall apart.
A big reason for that is a factor outside of the company’s control: the tariffs imposed by the United States.
Now, this is an area where the Carney government, including Joly, could play a useful role. They could put some time and effort into getting a deal to eliminate, or at least lower, the tariffs.
Instead, they walked away from talks in August, declared we are at war with the U.S., and haven’t put much effort into securing a new deal.
Melanie Joly faces criticism for her handling of Stellantis’ job losses, with concerns she may push remaining Canadian jobs out of the country. Her threatening stance toward the company risks
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