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Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli dispelled concerns over the use of foreign specialty workers Friday following a discussion with NextStar Energy CEO Danies Lee.
NextStar has said it’ll need up to 1,600 workers, who will arrive at different times, to complete the various phases of installing the over $3 billion worth of equipment needed for the 4.5-million-square-foot facility that will be Canada’s largest industrial plant.
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“Today I spoke with NextStar Energy CEO Danies Lee, who confirmed that during its construction phase, NextStar’s network of external suppliers will use up to 900 highly skilled temporary foreign workers to assist in assembling and installing equipment for Canada’s first battery manufacturing facility,” Fedeli said.
“These workers will also assist with training 700 Ontario workers to equip them with the net new skills that will lay the groundwork for work on future projects of this kind as we transition to building the cars of the future.
“To be clear, these temporary workers will come to Windsor to perform this highly specialized work, upskill Ontario workers and then return home.”
A number of local firms have already been contracted to help the specialized workers and companies coming to install the machinery by supplying equipment rentals, some trades, loading and unloading machinery and in other support roles.
When fully operational in 2025, it’s expected 90 to 95 per cent of the plant’s 2,500-member workforce will be comprised of domestic workers.
Though the issue of specialty workers erupted this week, NextStar’s plan for the workers has been public knowledge since early August when the Windsor Star reported on the company’s meeting with local officials, developers and realtors where it told those gathered around 1,600 specialized workers would be needed, when they’d arrive and the type of housing mixes that would be required.
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Local officials were told by LG that the breakdown in workers would be 900 to 1,000 technicians to set up the equipment and approximately 500 to 600 to run the facility.
The workers are legally allowed to enter the country under the International Mobility Program. There’s no labour impact assessment required for their entry.
The companies supplying the machinery to NextStar contractually require the use of their employees in the installation due to warranty and intellectual property requirements. Failure to do so would result in the warranties on the equipment being voided.
There are no Canadian manufacturers which make the unique equipment needed for the battery plant.
The specialty workers will build, install and test the machinery, but the physical construction of the plant is being done by Canadian workers.
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“An additional 1,600 Ontario workers will be employed to construct the facility in Windsor,” Fedeli said.
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“Once in its production phase, NextStar Energy will create an additional 2,500 full-time jobs for Ontario workers, as was outlined when this historic project was first announced last year.
“In addition, 800 workers are currently employed at the Battery Research Facility (Stellantis’s Automotive Research and Design Centre in Windsor), with more hiring to come.
“The NextStar facility will be the first of its kind in Canada, and we look forward to its successes as we continue to build out Ontario’s end-to-end electric vehicle battery supply chain, all while putting Ontario workers first.”
That supply chain is already forming in Windsor.
NextStar has confirmed four of its suppliers are already building plants in the city with a fifth company in the electric vehicle space expected to announce it has chosen Windsor for a plant shortly.
Local economic officials have also said they’re in the advanced stages of negotiations on more than $9 billion worth of additional projects.
Dwaddell@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/winstarwaddell
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