The Community Economic Development Commission and the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce are following up on their appeal to federal ministers, urging the government to apply the federal Buy Canadian policy to Via Rail’s upcoming fleet procurement.
The appeal was made to Melanie Joly, minister of industry; Dominic LeBlanc, minister responsible for Canada-U.S. trade, intergovernmental affairs, internal trade and one Canadian economy, and François-Philippe Champagne, minister of finance and national revenue.
In their followup letter, Jamie Taylor, chief executive officer of the Community Economic Development Commission, or CEDC, and Charla Robinson, chamber president, stressed their appreciation of the government’s commitment to strengthen domestic manufacturing and said they support federal efforts to ensure that investments by taxpayers generate Canadian jobs and economic growth.
“We want to ensure that federal tax dollars are being used to support increasing advanced manufacturing and assembly in Canada,” Robinson said.
“Via Rail’s more than $3-billion procurement represents a historic opportunity to create jobs and supply chains in communities like Thunder Bay.”
Taylor added that without the federal Buy Canadian policy applied to Via Rail’s upcoming fleet procurement, the contract could go to the same American company as the previous contract.
“In these uncertain times, Canada is supporting and should continue to support Canada,” Taylor said.
Robinson says Buy America restrictions in the U.S. continue to limit access for Canadian transit manufacturers.
“Implementing robust Canadian content requirements is essential to levelling the playing field,” Robinson said. “Thunder Bay’s Alstom facility continues to demonstrate world-class manufacturing expertise and stands ready to deliver high-quality, Canadian-built rail cars for the national fleet.”
She added that securing this work would safeguard hundreds of direct and indirect jobs, help stabilize the regional supply chain, and ensure that federal investments support Canadian workers rather than foreign competitors.
Robinson said the procurement process is still in progress as Via is still finalizing the bid requirements.
“This is why we are still pushing for these Canadian content rules to be applied,” she said.
The CEDC and the chamber are prepared to collaborate with the ministers’ offices and Via Rail to advance a procurement model that aligns with Canada’s economic priorities and showcases Canadian manufacturing excellence.
