Jagmeet Singh concerned 'thousands' of supply chain jobs could be lost when third shift is eliminated

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh used a Thursday visit to Windsor to meet with local NDP representatives, as well as union bosses representing the region's automotive, healthcare and education sector workers, among others.

Speaking to reporters at Unifor's regional office on Central Avenue, Singh expressed sympathy for the roughly 1,500 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles employees set to lose their jobs when the Windsor Assembly Plant's third shift is eliminated in June. 

Singh added that "thousands more" employees could be without work as a result of the loss of supply chain jobs. 

"New Democrats are deeply concerned and really worried about the future for a lot of families who are going to be reeling with the loss of the third shift," he said. 

Reiterating his party's calls for a national auto strategy, Singh criticized the federal government's approach to automotive issues. 

"This is another example of the failure of the federal government and Prime MInister Trudeau to be proactive instead of reactive," he said. "Right now, scrambling to save these jobs and find a way to people to work is not the way we should be operating."

Rather than simply making investments into the automotive sector, Singh said investments should be directly tied to jobs.

"That's the difference," he said. "Our approach would be let's tie investment to jobs, let's make sure there's a national strategy and let's celebrate the industry we have here by being proactive about protecting it."

Singh's calls for a federal auto strategy comes almost two months after federal Middle Class Prosperity Minister Mona Fortier met with Windsor-Essex business and community leaders in January. 

During her visit earlier this year, Fortier said she would take the idea for a federal auto strategy back to Ottawa, "to see if that could be something we could work on, because it is a way to continue to invest in our people and their skills."

Also in attendance during Singh's Thursday media scrum were Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse, Unifor Local 444 president Dave Cassidy, Local 200 president John D'Agnolo, Local 2458 President Tulio Diponti, Local 195 president Emile Nabbout, as well as former Essex NDP MP Tracey Ramsey. 

While speaking with reporters, Masse echoed Singh's calls for a national auto strategy, also voicing support for single-event sports betting — one of Masse's most prominent platforms.