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Prime Minister Mark Carney says he had been informed of “some aspects” of Stellantis’s plan to sell an idled Brampton, Ont., auto plant to Canadian armoured vehicle maker Roshel Inc. before the deal was announced earlier this week.
“Being informed or being aware of some aspects is not the same as Stellantis providing a global solution for those workers at the plant, which is their obligation,” Carney said while at a European Political Community meeting in Dublin, Ireland, on Thursday.
More than 2,000 workers at Stellantis’s Brampton plant have been out of work since the company halted operations in 2023 to retool the facility to produce the Jeep Compass.
Stellantis and Roshel signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the potential sale in September. The prime minister did not reveal Thursday how long he was aware of the deal or what aspects he was aware of.
Carney said that while selling the plant is a “partial solution” for some of the workers who lost their jobs, it leaves others out in the cold.
“We will pursue all of this. A partial solution is a step, it is not a global solution. That is a betrayal,” he said.
The prime minister made the comments a day after reports that his office and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly’s office had been aware for months of the details of what was going to be made public.
A spokesperson for Joly told CBC News on Wednesday that she “had no part in negotiating the deal with Stellantis or Roshel” and didn’t meet with Roshel.
When Stellantis announced the sale earlier this week, Carney called the situation with the Brampton plant “unacceptable.”
“It violates the obligations that Stellantis has under several agreements, but to be more fundamental, it’s a betrayal of the workers, as it is a betrayal of the obligations to Canada and by extension to all Canadians.”
Carney explained Thursday that Stellantis has an obligation to “all of the workers” at the plant.
“That’s the responsibility of Stellantis, that’s the responsibility they made multiple times, including in the battery deal that they signed with the government,” he said.
WATCH | ‘What was the betrayal?’ Carney clarifies stance on Stellantis plant deal:
‘What was the betrayal?’ Carney clarifies stance on Stellantis plant deal
Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaking from Dublin on Nov. 12, was asked what he meant when he called the planned sale of the idled Brampton, Ont., Stellantis plant to an armoured vehicle maker a ‘betrayal’ of workers. ‘A partial solution is a step, it is not a global solution,’ he said, adding that is a ‘betrayal.’
Stellantis paused the retooling plan at the Brampton auto plant in early 2025, announcing in October of that year that the Jeep Compass would be built at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois instead.
The Brampton plant’s future was left in limbo until Monday, when Stellantis announced it was selling the facility to Roshel in a deal that could see Stellantis lease some of the property back.
Stellantis says there are still about 1,800 workers from the Brampton plant on layoff. Since 2023, those workers have continued to receive 70 per cent of their pay, as well as benefits.
After announcing the plan, Stellantis issued a statement Tuesday, saying it would voluntarily pay the government subsidies back, which amount to at least $220 million so far. The company also said it will work with the union “toward a fair outcome” for the workers.
Last week, Unifor, the union representing the workers at the plant, demanded a meeting of all stakeholders, including the Ontario government, Stellantis and the federal government. Joly will attend that meeting in Toronto on Thursday on the federal government’s behalf in an attempt to find a way forward for laid-off Stellantis workers.
Chinese investment in Canada possible: Carney
Ontario Premier Doug Ford wrote a letter to Carney on Tuesday — a copy of which has been obtained by CBC News — warning against the possibility that the plant would be used to assemble “Chinese-made knock-down kits,” where a Chinese auto manufacturer imports parts from overseas just to be assembled in Canada.
Asked about that possibility on Thursday, Carney didn’t specifically address the assembly of kit-cars, saying only that his government wants “real opportunity” for autoworkers with existing partners, but that Chinese investment in Canada’s auto sector remains a possibility.
“The extent to which there’s Chinese investment depends on a variety of factors. It will be one of the discussions with [Chinese] President Xi,” Carney said.
The prime minister is currently on a world tour from Europe to Asia, where he will attend the APEC summit in Shenzhen, China, on Nov. 18 and 19, where he is expected to meet privately with Chinese President Xi Jinping.