Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne says he didn’t know that over 1,500 foreign workers would be coming to Windsor, Ont., to work on an electric vehicle battery plant subsidized with $15 billion in taxpayer funds.
When asked by reporters in Ottawa on Nov. 21 whether he knew there would be temporary foreign workers brought in to set up the NextStar Energy battery plant, he replied, “No, not necessarily.”
“But I’m saying I’m not surprised that you would have transfer of knowledge,” he added. “No one has done batteries in North America before, so you need certain key people to transfer the knowledge.”
The plant is a joint venture between European company Stellantis and LG Energy Solution, headquartered in South Korea.
Minister Champagne said the knowledge transfer would be done by “very few selected people.”
“That knowledge will help us to make sure that this plant is one of the most productive in the industry in North America, so let’s not lose sight of the big picture,” he said.
After speaking solo to reporters while on his way to a cabinet meeting, Mr. Champagne came back shortly after accompanied by Immigration Minister Marc Miller, Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault, and Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan.
Mr. Champagne said he had spoken to the Stellantis CEO the previous day to “bring him up to speed on the situation we’re facing in Canada.”
Mr. Champagne said he asked Stellantis’s CEO to “take action and to make sure that we respect not only the letter, but also the spirit of our contract with the company, which is to maximize the number of opportunities for Canadians.”
The post was related to a visit to Windsor by South Korean Ambassador Woongsoon Lim. The police force said it was “grateful” to discuss safety and security with the ambassador and that it looks “forward to the South Korean workforce coming to our community.”
The Epoch Times reached out to South Korean diplomatic missions in Canada for comment but didn’t immediately hear back. NextStar also has not returned several inquiries by The Epoch Times.
Mr. Boissonnault said there is “no justification that we can see for the number that the South Korean Ambassador raised with 1,600.”
He added that his department had conducted one Labour Market Impact Assessment for a job to be filled by the company if no Canadian applied. “There’s one temporary foreign worker that’s been approved for this project,” said Mr. Boissonnault.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the 1,600 foreign workers number doesn’t “seem credible.”
He noted that according to the free trade agreement with South Korea, people can come and go on business visas or visa-free.
“We’ve only had fewer than 100 people that have come in,” said Mr. Miller. “They’re training people up as Minister Champagne said.”
