CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Tuesday, Jul. 24, 2012 3:31PM EDT
Last Updated Tuesday, Jul. 24, 2012 7:10PM EDT
GM Canada announced Tuesday that it will invest $850 million in various research and development projects over the next four years.
The bulk of GM’s investment is said to go toward the development of electric cars and environmental research rather than jobs on the assembly line. The investments, which began in 2009, will continue through to 2016.
They will help fulfill conditions of the 2009 bailout package GM accepted from the federal government.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper was at the plant when the announcement was made.
Harper welcomed the funding, calling his meeting with the automaker’s president, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty a “pleasure.”
Harper reflected on the decision to bail out GM, saying that while it was a difficult one, it was the right one under the circumstances.
Harper said that thanks to the bailout, the company has been able to rebound and make valuable investments in Canada that will enhance the country’s future competitiveness.
“Investment in R&D brings long-term benefits to Canada, drives made-in-Canada innovation, increases our ability to compete internationally and creates high-paying and stable jobs,” Harper said in a statement released after the announcement.
The prime minister praised GM’s new investments, calling them an example of value-added manufacturing which will lead to increased innovation and research at Canadian universities and centres of industry.
“The ripple effects will be felt far and wide,” Harper said. “Research and development, finding better and more efficient ways—that is how we win in a competitive world.”
GM’s plans include a significant investment in the Canadian Engineering Centre in Oshawa. The company said it plans to make the centre a central part of its global engineering network.
The company also said it would focus on developing partnerships with Canadian research institutes, schools, suppliers and manufacturers.
Speaking to reporters, GM Canada president Kevin Williams said that the company “takes nothing for granted,” and that they are thankful for “the incredible support that Canadians provided that gave us this second chance.
“It’s driving us everyday to make this a company that Canadians can be proud of again,” he said.
Williams said the company would focus on three different areas of research: lightweight materials, software and communications.
Williams said GM research in these areas will help create “game-changing technologies for tomorrow’s vehicles.”
GM had promised to invest into research and development projects in Canada in exchange for $10.5-billion received from the government to help the flailing company - which was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2009.
Ontario’s premier also welcomed GM’s announcement.
McGuinty praised the company for its efforts to restructure and make good on its 2009 promise.
“Your engineers, designers and planners are thinking years into the future about vehicles that are safer, more efficient and fun to drive,” he said.
McGuinty specifically praised GM’s efforts to design an electric car which will “help us have a cleaner environment too.”
The premier said GM’s groundbreaking ideas and perseverance are helping the recovery process for Ontario’s auto sector.
While the prime minister and premier celebrated GM’s news, members of the Canadian Auto Workers union received the news cautiously.
CAW local 222 president Chris Buckley told CTV Toronto that there are still important questions that need to be answered.
“Though it is good news that General Motors is looking at redesigning vehicles and developing vehicles, the question is where will those vehicles be produced?” said Buckley.
Buckley said he would have liked to hear commitments from GM about reinvesting in Canadian operations and jobs.
GM says its investments will be spread over the country, with no significant job gains slated for the Oshawa region.
In June, the company announced it would start shutting down the last of its consolidated lines at the Oshawa plant. The downsizing will begin this fall and is scheduled to finish by June 2013. The line employs nearly 2,000 people.
With a report from CTV Toronto’s Natalie Johnson
