Thanks for the General Motors Investment and to Hydro clean up crews

Devolin Column
August 24, 2006

Thanks for the General Motors Investment and to Hydro clean up crews

Unlike many of my previous columns that focused on one topic, I want to mention a couple of recent events that had major effects on this riding in two very different ways.

On Monday, General Motors of Canada announced that the new Chevrolet Camaro will be built in Oshawa, beginning in 2008.

In case you missed the details, early production versions are expected at the end of 2008, with the start of sales in the first quarter of 2009. This announcement and conversion of the Oshawa plant to a state-of-the-art flexible manufacturing facility represents a further $740 million investment.

This decision by GM is great news for families and businesses in Oshawa who depend on a strong and vibrant auto sector and is a vote of confidence for those who work at the plant, many of whom live in this riding.

It also builds on GM’s broader integrated innovation investment that includes research partnerships with educational institutes across Quebec and Ontario, including the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT).

The $740 million investment completes GM Canada’s Beacon project announcement in March 2005 and adds the new Camaro product mandate for Oshawa. This announcement brings GM Canada’s total investment since March 2005 to more than $3 billion.

For years, automotive experts have identified GM Oshawa workers as among the most highly skilled and dedicated in the world, and I’m pleased that GM continues to demonstrate its confidence in its Oshawa workforce.

The auto sector is one of the pillars of Haliburotn-Kawartha Lakes-Brock and by General Motors investing in leading-edge manufacturing at its Oshawa plant; it reflects confidence in our country and our auto industry.

The second issue I want to touch on is the recent wind storm that swept through Haliburton County and northern Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough County on Wednesday August 2nd.

For those of you who have seen the damage, I’m sure that you would agree with me that this was one of the worst storms to hit our area in many years. A state of emergency was declared in Galway-Cavendish and Harvey in addition to the four municipalities in Haliburton County because of the extent of the damage.

Many residents and cottagers had trees down in their yards, and in some cases, on their houses and sheds. Thousands were without power for many days – including my own home that was out for 2 days. For many others – even on the outskirts of the main villages – power and phones were down for 5 or 6 days. 

Tragically, many family heirloom properties have been irreparably damaged. For example, the historic Matabanick Inn on Boshkung Lake in Algonquin Highlands was severely damaged. Downed trees and hydro poles also caused the closure of County Road 503 between Gooderham and Buckhorn, and a tree branch broke the windshield of a sports utility vehicle while it was being driven on East Bay on Drag Lake.

Later last week, Environment Canada confirmed that the tornados that hit were in the F1 category, and that its path of destruction was enormous. Miraculously, through it all, not one life was lost.

During this time of need, many people stepped forward and worked together to get this area back to normal. Crews from Bell, Hydro One and various municipalities worked around the clock in an effort to get services back to normal. Church groups opened their doors and their hearts and offered free meals to people working with the clean up effort. Others simply helped bring bottles of water to those not able to stop for a break. 

I want to offer a big thank you goes out to all those that assisted with the clean up effort. Your effort on behalf of your neighbours is something worth celebrating.