Resolution No. 1 Building a Modern-Day “Buy Canadian” Campaign

Unifor National will:

1. Launch a campaign to advocate for a new industrial policy that includes a modernized approach to public procurement for transportation vehicles, equipment and other goods, and increased Canadian content across the value chain, including in Unifor-represented
2. Provide for the development of a position paper, in collaboration with local unions, outlining potential policy measures affecting members in the heavy vehicle manufacturing sector in Quebec and across the country, including in aerospace, shipbuilding and bus and rolling stock production.
3. Make direct contact with municipal, provincial and federal government representatives to discuss policy solutions aimed at protecting existing jobs and creating new jobs in the transportation vehicle and heavy equipment manufacturing sectors.

 Because:

• Unifor represents approximately 46,000 members in the air, rail, road and maritime transportation sectors across the country, in addition to thousands more in the aircraft, rail car, passenger transportation vehicle and ship manufacturing industries.
• Delegates at the 2023 Canadian Council unanimously endorsed the National President’s recommendation to pursue campaigns aimed at leveraging government procurement in order to localize supply chains, grow the footprint of Canadian-made products, stimulate job creation and maximize local economic development as part of a broader industrial
• The federal, provincial and municipal governments are often responsible for purchasing or financing the purchase of transportation vehicles and equipment, and this role should come with certain obligations aimed at maximizing the economic and social benefits of such purchases for Canadian workers.
• Free trade treaties, deregulation, privatization and the lack of innovative and relevant policy directions have limited the use of public procurement as an effective tool to strengthen Canada’s overall economy.
  

Respectfully Submitted by: Locals 700, 1004