Trudeau: "Deeply disappointed"

[Cardboard]

That is what he told Barra about the closure of GM's plant in Oshawa.

 

Quite a leader that we have up here. Always sorry but, never offers any solution. Similar to his crying apologies to First Nations but, never providing them with any avenue to improve their lot.

 

Just like he told people in Calgary last week: "No immediate solution". Such empathy from an hypocritical POS who personally killed Northern Gateway.

 

That is it for Canadian workers. So much for this 1 to 2 year mess around to defend NAFTA to keep us exporting cars to the U.S...

 

We will import our oil, cars and all kinds of other things from other countries going forward but, not... not pot! All we need is a buzz and oh yes, we will have unlimited funding to keep making planes and rail cars at Bombardier...

 

Cardboard

[Gregmal]

Trudeau is an idiot. But the people elected him, so let them have him. They deserve it.

[SharperDingaan]

GM is closing the plant because the technology is obsolete. Sales volumes are declining, and new car models are increasingly EV and not gasoline; Oshawa is building horse and buggies, in an age of electric. Apparently you would prefer that Canadians subsidize GM to keep this obsolete plant going? rather than biting the bullet and retraining people for a better (but different) and sustainable future?

 

This happens, and it is ROUTINE.

Mining communities close when the mine's done, provinces do something else when they run out of resource (Newfoundland and Cod), plants shut down when they cost more than they are worth (rustbelts). Yes it hurts, it displaces people, but life moves on. The young do something else, the old re-invent themselves, and 'governments' help with the transition costs.

 

If you want goverment to 'restructure' your industry (industrial policy, tax structure/incentives, etc.) because it isn't working, & are claiming that it's 'their' responsibility, you're asking for a quasi-nationalization. Is that really what you want? because it can't go both ways.

 

Our own thoughts are that quasi-nationalization IS the way to go, and there are all kinds of European, Asian, and S American examples. In the oil patch that's a National Energy Program (NEP) 2.0, one of the most hated programs there has ever been in Alberta; and right up there with god-damn the CPR! Charming.

 

Just a different POV

 

SD

 

 

 

 

[Viking]

Canadian housing is slowing. Alberta oil industry is hurting again. Autos looks like it is slowing. US is becoming more insular in terms of trade. Canada has a few decent sized headwinds. 2019 is shaping up to be a very interesting year.

 

Going into an election year we likely should also prepare for much higher government spending (as the politicians look to buy some votes) and larger deficits (higher total government debt).

 

Lots to look forward to :-)

[Cardboard]

Once again SD you have shown your ignorance or inability to read?

 

"Sales volumes are declining, and new car models are increasingly EV and not gasoline;"

 

And the truth:

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/business/gm-cars-dropping-production/index.html

 

"January - September sales: 13,243, down 13.7%

The Volt is a plug-in electric hybrid sedan lost in the excitement of all-electric cars. Chevy has been promoting the electric Bolt hatchback, though Bolt sales have fallen too."

 

And regarding saving the planet, nobody gives a damn anymore. The U.S., Brazil, Australia and now even the French are saying screw this!

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-fuel-tax-protest-paris-1.4919541

 

Cardboard

[Gregmal]

Saving the environment is great and all, but everyone, led by the US, is better off stopping completely and not even trying until they find something realistic. Far better doing that than just incinerating money, piling up debt, and continuing to get nothing in return because even all the experts don't have a clue what they're doing. It's been decades and the only constant is the endless slew of bankrupt green energy projects.

[SharperDingaan]

Actually .... you may wish to read before you post.

We're also pretty sure that over the next few weeks we'll ALSO hear about closures at suppiers that were feeding components to those plants, and that for every assembly line job there are roughly 5 other jobs (bars, fast food, etc) dependent upon them. Those 2500 positions in Oshawa will eliminate upwards of 15,000 jobs in the local economic region, and for people who really need the work.

 

https://ca.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idCAKCN1NV1NB-OCABS

 

"Unlike Japanese automakers Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Honda Motor Co Ltd and Toyota Motor Corp, which rely on a more flexible system where they make multiple vehicles at a single plant, GM has too many factories that make just a single model.

 

The collapse in sales of compact and midsize sedans has hit certain GM models harder than rival Japanese brands. Sales of the Honda Civic are down 11 percent through the first 10 months of 2018. But sales of the Chevrolet Cruze are off 22 percent.

 

The Hamtramck and Lordstown assembly plants are currently operating on one shift. A rule of thumb for the automotive industry is that if a plant is running below 80 percent of production capacity, it is losing money. GM has several plants running well below that, and Barra said North American operations overall were operating at 70 percent capacity. Consultancy LMC estimates that Lordstown operates at just 31 percent of production capacity in 2018."

 

'Sustainable' is also NOT equal to 'green' jobs. It simply means collectively producing goods that people want, and collectively paying the labour force enough that they can in-turn afford to buy them.

 

It's a tough day for Oshawa, it's just before christmas, & they don't need the gawkers.

If sons/daughters can learn from it, & ultimately end up not following the paths of mom/dad, good for them.

 

SD

 

 

[Parsad]

Once again SD you have shown your ignorance or inability to read?

 

"Sales volumes are declining, and new car models are increasingly EV and not gasoline;"

 

And the truth:

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/business/gm-cars-dropping-production/index.html

 

"January - September sales: 13,243, down 13.7%

The Volt is a plug-in electric hybrid sedan lost in the excitement of all-electric cars. Chevy has been promoting the electric Bolt hatchback, though Bolt sales have fallen too."

 

And regarding saving the planet, nobody gives a damn anymore. The U.S., Brazil, Australia and now even the French are saying screw this!

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/france-fuel-tax-protest-paris-1.4919541

 

Cardboard

 

You are correct Cardboard, but only for about a decade:

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/every-new-car-sold-in-2040-will-be-zero-emission-b-c-government-says-1.4913679

 

Won't be long before other provinces follow suit, as well as many U.S. states if you believe one iota of the National Report on Climate Change:

 

https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/

 

But hey, Trump is skeptical, so he's probably right.  Cheers!

[Guest 50centdollars]

 

Don Walker is a smart guy over at Magna. He seems pretty concerned.

 

https://business.financialpost.com/transportation/im-worried-about-whats-going-on-in-canada-magnas-ceo-concerned-about-competitiveness

[rb]

I would really wish that the people that are so disapointed with Trudeau would post what would they expect him to do in regards to Oshawa closing.

 

Separately on ICE vs EV and all that, the more you run the numbers the more it seems that the EVs come out on top. Especially if you start to think about EVs as an everyman's car as opposed to a luxury vehicles.

[Cigarbutt]

I would really wish that the people that are so disapointed with Trudeau would post what would they expect him to do in regards to Oshawa closing.

In 2002, the only assembly line in Quebec (GM Boisbriand) was closed and the wounds took long to heal. It signaled the end of an epoch. The huge land area which is quite close to where I live has been replaced by a shopping center.

[Cardboard]

"I would really wish that the people that are so disapointed with Trudeau would post what would they expect him to do in regards to Oshawa closing."

 

Problem is clear: sedans no longer sell.

 

Forget about your EV propaganda too: Bolt and Volt don't sell either.

 

People want SUV's and large vehicles and it is a worldwide phenomenon! I have posted prior on this regarding Ford which was well ahead of GM again.

 

Now we are getting to it. Ford didn't go bankrupt but, GM did. Both the U.S. government and Canada spent billions to keep alive that POS.

 

Now it is time for our PM to demand payback. If the need is to retool Oshawa to produce trucks or SUV's or even EV's (although no demand), then he should state to Barra that she needs to rethink her strategy or large monetary consequences will follow.

 

Not sure exactly what can be done against GM that will meet USCMA terms but, there must be a way to hurt them. However, for the PM to just say: deeply disappointed or too bad, it is stupid!

 

This may sound harsh to so-called polite Canadians (more akin to sheeps being fleeced) but, that is now the world in which we live in and we must fight for every inch.

 

Cardboard