CBC said the hundreds of South Koreans who will work at the NextStar electric vehicle battery factory in Windsor, ON, are coming because of former prime minister Stephen Harper.CBC reported Tuesday concerns were raised about foreign workers coming to Canada when a social media post by the Windsor Police Service suggested up to 1,600 South Koreans would require accommodations during their employment at the facility. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre called for a full inquiry into the Canadian government’s massive subsidies for electric vehicle battery plants on Monday amid allegations NextStar was planning on bringing in temporary foreign workers to run them.READ MORE: Poilievre demands inquiry into foreign workers at subsidized EV plantsPoilievre demanded terms of a $15 billion contract with Stellantis be made public and wanted assurances no public money should go to hiring temporary foreign workers at its battery plant in Windsor.“Every family in Canada will give $1,000 to this plant, and now we know that the majority of the jobs won’t even go to Canadians,” said Poilievre. Four cabinet ministers tried to calm tensions on Tuesday by explaining the South Koreans are eligible to work in Canada under labour mobility provisions contained in the free trade agreement that came into force soon before Poilievre was named employment minister in 2015. “We do have a free trade agreement with South Korea,” said Immigration Minister Marc Miller. “And under Article 186 of that agreement, people do come and go on business visas, or visa free, and they can stay if they are within the ambit of the reasons why they're here.” If people are not, Miller said the Canada Border Services Agency will investigate. So far, Miller said fewer than 100 people have entered Canada under these conditions, and these workers have been trained up. “Not a single Canadian job has been paused or will be affected by this, but people do come and go as part of our free trade agreement with South Korea, just like Canadian businesses get the same benefit when they're in South Korea,” he said. Rebel News publisher Ezra Levant said CBC’s reporting is not news. “It's a grant application from the CBC to Trudeau,” said Levant. “Trudeau gave $15 billion of our money to a battery factory promising Canadian jobs.”.Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group Business Analytics and Segmentation Lead Zachary Tisdale accused CBC of “running cover for the Liberals as usual.”“Total defund,” said Tisdale. “Zero dollars.”
