president, CAW Local 222, Oshawa, Ont. -- Perhaps International Trade Minister David Emerson can help the 15,000 members of Canadian Auto Workers Local 222 in Oshawa, Ont., reconcile two stories in yesterday's Report on Business.
The first (GM Plant Wins Laurels, No Promises) reports that the Oshawa No. 2 car assembly plant has once again won the J. D. Power award for the highest-quality output in the Western Hemisphere. Yet, General Motors wants to close the plant. Why? Because a one-way flood of offshore imports is destroying the market share of GM and other North American producers, leaving them with too much capacity.
Which brings us to the second story, where Mr. Emerson commits to accelerating free-trade talks with South Korea and other offshore markets (Canada Lags In Global Trade Race: Emerson). He writes off opposition from the auto industry and other crucial export sectors as special interests, and promises to help them become globally competitive. But the numbers prove it: We are already super-competitive. Yet, even with the best quality and productivity, our jobs will continue to disappear so long as countries such as Korea are allowed to treat trade as a one-way street: Korea bought only 400 Canadian vehicles last year, versus 130,000 Korean vehicles sold in Canada. Their products compete directly with what we build in Oshawa.
At the very moment when we are pulling out all the stops to save Canadian auto jobs, our own trade minister wants to give Korea's burgeoning auto exports to Canada an extra boost. This is a betrayal of Canada's economic interests.