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Email this1:23 pm
October 29, 2017
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Kidd said
Sorry Vatox... the deal was NOT about the auto industry.Let's beat this dead horse some more.
The USA/canada trade deal was NOT about GM canada. GM Oshawa had over 20,000 production employees not that long ago, today that number is well below 2,000. Pretty well ALL of General Motors has already left canada for greener pastures. I spent 30 years working there, and they are now a mere shadow of what they once were. The union (unifor) post a production number of 1,767. i would have to inquire but i believe they are grossly exaggerating that number, by maybe 500. i would say, 1,200 to 1,300 production employees currently work at GM oshawa.
http://local222.ca/the-oshaworker/
Never said it was about autos
1:35 pm
October 29, 2017
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Top It Up said
Well, I am confused - if dairy ain't that big a deal there should be absolutely NO need for compensation and yet, we get this from Trudeau and Freeland -
When asked how he can insist that supply management is protected under the deal when Canada has agreed to eradicate its pricing classes, Trudeau attempted to soften the blow.
“We have made modifications to the way it works. But we also know that it is something that will ensure the viability and the strength of supply management for years to come.”
Later, in response to another reporter’s question, Trudeau conceded that the concessions made on dairy were not “ideal.”
Both Trudeau and Freeland insisted Monday that dairy, egg and poultry farmers will be compensated accordingly.
“Our supply management producers will be fully compensated, because that is the fair thing to do,” Freeland said. Discussions about compensation have already started, she said.
You are correct. There is no need for compensation. It's a government bs policy just like maritimers would work for a month catching fish and collect employment insurance the rest of the year.
NAFTA and USMCA didn't create those issues.
1:57 pm
October 29, 2017
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Kidd said
Sorry Vatox... oil is the trade deal.Under this new usa/canada trade deal, the states can and will dictate who canada can and will do business with. If a nation has been deemed unfriendly to the interests of the states.... canada will NOT be allowed to do business with such nation.
The whole idea of a pipe line to the BC coast, is/was to sell oil to china. Believe it or not... trump doesn't like china.
Oil is always the deal with the US. They are always influencing oil and that's why you have to remove it from the equation in order to see what is really there. Even without NAFTA or USMCA, the US would be controlling oil so look at the deal for what has changed from before, that's the real score.
2:01 pm
February 27, 2018
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The CAW (Canadian Auto Worker, formerly part of the UAW, united auto worker) had to merge with a non auto union to form unifor because the candian auto worker membership numbers became too small.
I can only speak for GM, not Ford or Chrysler. I do not know what their employment numbers are.... i think Ford in Oakville has around 4,500 employees.
GM oshawa has no product of their own after the loss of the camaro, i believe that was in the 4th quarter of 2015. There are two lines currently in gm oshawa, the flex line and a truck line (not a truck plant, a truck line). BOTH of these lines build what's called overflow.
Overflow, when a car plant can not meet the current demand for a product, another plant will pick up the slack. The overflow plant will stop making the product, if the demand for the product is reduced to a level which the source plant can meet. So gm oshawa is on 100% borrowed time, it should have probably closed a year ago.
The Flex line WAS making the camaro, regal, impala and a cadillac all on the same production line. With the use of robots and servo drives the production line was designed to be flexible, able to make different car models one, right after the other, hence it is referred to as "flex"
Gm Oshawa used to take the Equinox overflow from the cami plant in Ingersoll. Cami would build the body of the vehicle, ship it on a 2 hour highway trip to oshawa, then oshawa would paint it and finish the assembly.
Gm oshawa's truck line. The body of the pickup truck is made in the states. Then this truck body is shipped to oshawa to be painted and finished. Expensive way to make a vehicle? Yeah, but it's the gm way.
https://www.autotrader.ca/newsfeatures/20180212/oshawa-assembly-easing-gms-new-pickup-transition/
Why i believe the union production numbers of 1,767 are too high. I thought the flex line had been reduced to one shift but the company maintained two shifts of workers... so they work 2 weeks a month and are laid off 2 weeks a month (with pay). Union dues are collected from everyone, so unifor likes this set up.
Please do not ask me what happened to the billions of dollars your Canadian government gave gm canada. I can honestly say that i was opposed to the bail out, even though i prospered from it immensely.
2:14 pm
December 17, 2016
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COOL, thanks Kidd, for that insight into manufacturing Ops. - just learned a little something today.
11:11 am
December 17, 2016
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Just getting ready to head off to Europe for 5 weeks and, with the settlement, there's been a real positive improvement in the CDN/Euro Fx rate since the spring actuals ... they now match the rates from this time, a year ago.
11:21 pm
February 27, 2018
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I am reviving this thread to show. The oil situation with the usa has gotten worse since our new trade agreement.
The acronyms.
Wti, western texas intermediate. The price per barrel we normally see quoted. $72 usa per barrel
Wcs, western canadian select. The price the Americans pay Alberta and saskatchewan for their oil. $22 usa per barrel
https://oilprice.com/oil-price-charts
Autos. I still get the union magazine from gm oshawa. On pages 3 or 4 of each issue, the union states the number of production workers currently working at gm oshawa. They also give a record of their finances. In the october 2018 issue, Unifor local 222 estimate a loss of $350,000 for 2018. You yourself are welcome to read the employment numbers and everything else about gm oshawa from the back issues. Link below
11:29 pm
October 29, 2017
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If Alberta is selling oil at $22 US a barrel, its because they are willing to sell it for that amount. They don't have to sell it.
11:52 pm
February 27, 2018
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We accept $22 usa per barrel because canada as a country is flat broke. We need the money. I am surprised that your government hasn't asked Greece for financial advise.
This ties into the pot thread. The government of canada do NOT care about the wellbeing of Canadians. I believe smoking causes lung cancer, your government doesn't. I believe pot will cause more deaths on our roads due to impairment, your government doesn't. I believe pot will ruin the brains of our youth, your government doesn't.
the potential loss of thousands of canadian lives, means nothing to your government, your government will make a dollar, that's ALL that matters to them.
12:10 am
October 29, 2017
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Kidd said
your government will make a dollar, that's ALL that matters to them.
I agree 100%. we are sacrificing the value of health and giving away resources all because the government wants more money, at any cost, to throw away on more blunders.
Please write your comments in the forum.