The federal government is refusing to disclose whether its multi-billion-dollar subsidy deal with Stellantis included any job guarantees, despite thousands of layoffs announced by the automaker last month.Blacklock's Reporter says Industry Minister Mélanie Joly told the Commons industry committee that while job protections were part of the 2022 funding agreements, the details are “commercially sensitive” and cannot be shared without Stellantis’ approval. The automaker has received $15 billion in federal aid to build electric-vehicle battery plants in Windsor and Brampton, Ont.Conservative MP Raquel Dancho pressed Joly for clear answers, questioning whether any binding job commitments exist after Stellantis announced 3,000 layoffs on October 14. .“Surely you can tell us if there was a 3,000-person job guarantee for Brampton,” said Dancho. “That is not commercially sensitive information.”Joly insisted job guarantees were included but would not confirm details, saying the contracts for all plants were “linked.” Deputy Industry Minister Philip Jennings also declined to provide specifics, saying he could not confirm anything until the company approved what could be shared.Dancho accused the government of hiding behind confidentiality to shield itself from scrutiny. “The problem is 3,000 people were laid off and your government committed billions of taxpayers’ dollars,” she said..Liberal MPs on the Commons government operations committee voted against a motion to compel disclosure of the Stellantis agreements, calling public release “improper” and damaging to Canada’s reputation.
