Government Operations and Estimates

Opening remarks

I would like to thank the chair and the House standing committee for the invitation to speak here today on behalf of Janco Steel. I've worked in the steel industry for 38 years in a commercial capacity and in my role right now, as a member of the trade subcommittee of the CSPA. Janco is a steel service centre with production and manufacturing capacity, located in Stoney Creek, Ontario. We employ 325 Canadian workers, have over 600,000 square feet of plant space and serve the North American market. Ninety-nine per cent of the coil and plate we purchase is from the four Canadian steel mills, always. We truly value their partnership. Traditionally, 30% to 35% of our business was sold into the United States, so you can imagine how challenging the past year has been for us, navigating the landscape of punitive steel tariffs. This buy Canadian policy is welcomed by Janco. In fact, we've already seen some benefits from this policy: an increase in inquiries requiring melted and poured Canadian steel and a general feeling in the market that investment in manufacturing is being supported by the government and industry. From our perspective, we are navigating an evolving global trade…

Opening remarks

Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. I appear before you today as director of public and government affairs for Canadian Manuracturers and Exporters - Quebec. We are a business association dedicated to the growth of Quebec's manufacturing sector. We rely on a network of more than 1,000 manufacturers of all sizes across the province. We also work with Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters - Canada, which has been around since 1871, to advocate for Canadian manufacturing. From a manufacturing stand point, the policy being discussed today can provide several important benefits. First, it can strengthen domestic demand for domestically manufactured goods. Second, it can secure and boost Canadian supply chains, which are particularly important in the current context of trade and geopolitical volatility. Third, it can encourage investment, innovation and industrial capacity development in Canada. That said, a poorly designed Canadian preference policy can also miss the mark. It should be used as a useful industrial policy lever to build Canadian manufacturing capacity, improve supply chain resilience and maximize the economic value created across the country. In a…

Opening remarks

Thank you very much for the question. When we talk about Canadian steel, we're talking about steel that can be produced in different ways, and those different approaches have different.... For example, greenhouse gas emissions have pathways associated with them, but they're producing different products. When we look at the two primary manufacturing processes—blast-furnace steel versus scrap-based electric arc furnace steel—Canada is ranked first in the world on a greenhouse gas emissions intensity basis for blast furnaces and third in the world for electric arc furnaces. We're producing some of the best steel in the world from an environmental perspective.

Opening remarks

Good afternoon, Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Nole Coutrouzas. I serve as the business manager for the Millwright Regional Council, representing 10,000 highly skilled millwrights across Canada who install, maintain and repair the equipment that powers Canada's economy. I also serve as president of the Hamilton-Brantford Building and Construction Trades Council and as vice-president of the Waterloo, Wellington, Dufferin and Grey Building and Construction Trades Council, representing an additional 30,000 skilled trades workers across Ontario. I'm here to speak to one central point today: A true buy Canadian policy must include Canadian skilled trades labour, not just Canadian materials and manufacturing. Canadian workers must be at the centre of buy Canadian. When we talk about buy Canadian, the focus is often on goods, steel, equipment and materials, but those products do not install or maintain themselves. It is Canadian skilled trades workers who build, assemble, install and maintain the infrastructure and industrial systems that these investments depend on. If public funds are being used for projects…

Opening remarks

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I appreciate the opportunity. To the esteemed members of the committee, I would like to extend my appreciation for the opportunity to voice our council's views on the buy Canadian policy. My name is Igor Delov. I'm director of government and stakeholder relations at the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario. We represent 15 unions with a membership of 150,000 construction craft workers in every discipline of the sector, which accounts for 7% of Ontario's GDP. With our signatory employer partners, we manage over 100 joint apprenticeship training centres, which prepare the safest, most qualified construction workers who build the homes, roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and energy systems that Ontarians depend on. From a building trades perspective, we're encouraged by the current trajectory of project commitments being made by federal and provincial authorities. We welcome the federal announcement of $115 billion towards infrastructure investments in the next five years, which will result in the creation of thousands of training and apprenticeship opportunities and long-term careers in construction. We further salute…

Opening remarks

First, I apologize for running late. It wasn't my intention. I got the times mixed up because of the time zone difference. I'm currently in Edmonton. Unfortunately, the Paccar plant—which is indeed the last remaining truck assembly plant—is not an isolated case. A similar decline has been observed in several sectors. One of the reasons is that we don't buy from domestic suppliers. For example, Paccar is struggling to secure contracts from the City of Laval, but because of the “lowest bidder” policy, these contracts may slip away, likely due to a difference of 1%. When procuring goods and services, public service purchasers don't really seem willing to truly consider the impact of buying Canadian for this type of product. This is disastrous because the Paccar plant can produce about 100 trucks per day, yet it is currently making just 25. So the question is this: For how long will fixed costs allow a facility that has a production capacity well in excess of 25 trucks per day to remain profitable? If the Paccar plant goes, trucks will no longer be manufactured in Canada.