Isn't it funny there is no money for any projects on the Canadian scene yet our governments can give
hundreds of millions of dollars to Toyota Canada, which is really a Japanese investment.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (
TM-N83.600.150.18%), backed by the federal and Ontario governments, will unveil plans Tuesday to invest about $500-million to finance productivity and production improvements and green initiatives at the auto maker’s two Ontario assembly plants.
The governments will each invest about $60-million, said sources familiar with an announcement to be made at the company’s plant in Cambridge, Ont., by Gary Goodyear, federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, and John Milloy, Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.
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The government financing represents the first major financial contribution they have made to an auto maker since they spent about $13-billion to help bail out Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. during the recession that led to the auto industry crisis in 2008-09.
The Toyota funding is a response to the first of what is expected to be a new round of requests from auto makers seeking financial help to upgrade their Canadian plants as product mandates now held by those plants expire and as the companies seek ways to offset the billions of dollars they are spending to meet new fuel economy regulations.
The projects Toyota is examining include an upgrade to the paint shop at the assembly plant in Cambridge, which assembles the Toyota Corolla compact sedan and the Lexus RX350 luxury crossover utility vehicle, industry sources said.
The projects could lead to increased production in Cambridge and at a nearby plant in Woodstock that puts together the RAV4 crossover, the sources said. A federal government source said that could lead to more jobs at the two plants, which now employ about 6,500 people.
Improving productivity has been identified as one of the key challenges facing Canada’s manufacturing industry, especially as manufacturers deal with the impact of the high value of the Canadian dollar.
The announcement comes as Toyota struggles to get the two Canadian plants back to full production following the March earthquake in Japan, which severely disrupted the operations of parts suppliers there.
The Cambridge facility is the only Toyota plant outside Japan that assembles vehicles for the company’s luxury Lexus franchise.
It is one of the three plants that tied in the annual J.D. Power and Associates annual survey of initial quality. The Cambridge plant shared the platinum award with a Lexus plant in Japan and a Honda Motor Co. Ltd. plant in Greensburg, Ind., which turned out vehicles with the fewest defects and malfunctions.
Much of that dedication to quality comes from strong leadership, the hiring of capable people and the willingness of Canadian workers to be trained, industry sources said.
“The issue is, can you train them enough to offset a Canadian dollar trading at $1.03 (U.S.)?” one source said.
Doesn't this just warm you heart? I am not saying that the government should not step in and help where they can but this is
not the kind of help they should be providing. There are other sectors out there who need help as well and the government is
doing nothing to help.
Agriculture and other programs go without or face cutbacks in budgets yet the foreign car companies can slap a Canada
behind their name and line up for money. 500 million for foreign interests nothing for post secondary education students and
others.
We are shelling out treats more often that kids get once a year for Halloween
