A delegation of city officials, businesses and labour reps from Thunder Bay are pleading Bombardier’s case in Toronto.
It stems from massive layoffs at the facility.
Mayor Bill Mauro says they stressed the importance of the major employer to Ontario Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney.
Mauro stressed “Our plant in Thunder Bay is the answer to the needs of the Toronto Transit Commission and Metrolinx. A different provider would be more expensive and cause a significant delay in meeting the near term needs of the TTC and Metrolinx. We must also continue to make the point that a local content requirement would level the playing field with competing jurisdictions.”
He says they have a long history of doing the work in Thunder Bay.
The delegation also spoke about the importance of the plant with a Toronto City Councillor and a Toronto Transit Commission Board Member.
Mauro says “I think they understand clearly the seriousness of what we’re dealing with. We only have about 8 or 10 months work left in the pipeline and we’re really hoping to get some announcements before work runs out because than you can never be certain what’s going to occur with the plant.”
Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission Chair Craig Urquhart was a member of the delegation and he says “We are not asking for a handout, we are pushing for fair treatment.”
He adds “Other countries are pursuing domestic content requirements with vigour; we need to ensure all levels of Government understand and address the unlevelled playing field that currently exists.”
