Ottawa gives Stellantis 30 days to fix Brampton funding default

Global News reported that a letter from Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, dated November 12, says Stellantis, an automaker, is in default of its 2022 federal funding agreement. Ms Joly said Ottawa will sue if the funds, which she put at hundreds of millions of dollars, are not repaid. Stellantis also has 30 days to show it will correct the conditions in the letter, or face penalties, including ending the deal and repaying all or part of the funding. Ms Joly held a meeting in Toronto with Stellantis, the union and an Ontario minister.

The funding dates from 2022, when Ottawa committed up to $529 million to retool Stellantis’s Brampton and Windsor plants for electrified vehicles. But Ontario, which committed $513 million, says no money has flowed to Stellantis for Brampton; the $55 million paid went to Windsor. Stellantis says it has offered to return the support received for Brampton’s original retooling plan.

Stellantis plans to sell the Brampton plant to Roshel, a defence manufacturer, and the sale is expected to close by the end of 2026. Unifor, the union, says the takeover will jeopardize the jobs of more than 2,000 laid-off Brampton workers waiting to return.

Sources: Global News · CP24 on X