THUNDER BAY – The possibility of a new streetcar order for Bombardier is a promising sign, but local leaders say they’re waiting to see where major chips fall before declaring a victory for the company’s Thunder Bay manufacturing plant.
Dominic Pasqualino, president of Unifor Local 1075, said a recommendation from Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) staff for a new $140 million order of 13 streetcars from Bombardier wouldn't make much of an impact for the workers he represents.
“A 13 car order isn’t going to cut it,” he said. “It doesn’t even guarantee those cars will be built in our plant.”
However, if provincial and federal governments come through with matching funding needed to boost the order to 60 cars, Pasqualino was confident Thunder Bay would the logical place to build them.
“There’s no doubt in my mind – 60 cars, everybody knows that we’re the best place to build that amount or more,” he said. “We’re not really good at making five or ten cars – we need a big order.”
Mayor Bill Mauro said the recommendation for another streetcar order with Bombardier showed what those who work at the local plant already know: the cars can be made more quickly and at a lower cost here.
He called the news an encouraging sign, one he hopes will be backstopped by investment from upper levels of government.
“I think [my reaction] is cautious optimism,” he said, “but there’s more we’d hope to see.”
Even the larger 60 streetcar order would have a limited impact, Pasqualino warned – perhaps sustaining the workforce currently turning out bi-level GO train cars and ventilators.
“That 60 car order probably wouldn’t increase our [staff] numbers very much – as a matter of fact, they may even reduce from what we’ve got right now – but at least it keeps the lights on in the plant in 2022.”
The TTC recommendation stipulates that all streetcars would be delivered between 2023 and 2025.
Pasqualino expressed confidence that leadership at Bombardier was focused on bringing work to Thunder Bay – though he said the acquisition of its rail division by the French train manufacturer Alstom, expected to close early in the new year, adds uncertainty.
The company also welcomed the TTC recommendation, thought it declined to comment on implications for the Thunder Bay plant.
“On behalf the women and men who work for Bombardier Transportation here in Ontario, we welcome the opportunity to be considered, in the TTC Board report... as the TTC’s preferred manufacturer for up to 60 additional streetcars,” the company said in a statement to Tbnewswatch.
The recommendation for the new order with Bombardier will be voted on by the TTC’s board as part of a larger fleet procurement strategy on Thursday.
That plan, if approved, would also advance the initial phase of procurement for 80 new subway trains, at an estimated cost of $1.61 billion - again, dependent on funding from upper levels of government.
Unlike the streetcar order, that’s work that could sustain operations and bring laid off workers back if completed at the Thunder Bay plant, which has previously manufactured the cars, Pasqualino said.
“The impact of a subway order would be tremendous,” Mauro agreed.
The plant’s uncertain future highlights the need for stronger “Buy Canadian” procurement policies from all levels of government, the mayor argued.
“The demand is there, but the City of Toronto will need support from the federal and provincial governments,” he said. “The good news is there is no disagreement among any of the major players that there is a demand for vehicles.”
Pasqualino praised Mauro’s dedication on the file, but worried that the mayor’s political affiliation might pose a challenge in advocacy efforts with the Ford government.
“You’re talking about a Liberal asking a Conservative for more work,” he said. “They seem to look at ridings they can help out – things are very political. It’s really hard to get opposing political parties to forget about the politics and do what the right thing is.”
Mauro, however, said his experience with the file as an MPP and minister in Ontario’s Liberal government familiar had proven an asset in advancing the issue at various levels of government, and with the TTC.
That had included raising it with Ontario Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney several months ago, he said, but had yet to receive a formal response.
The TTC board will consider approval of the 13 streetcar order and other details of its fleet procurement strategy on Thursday.
