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A Stellantis executive was grilled by MPs Wednesday over whether blockbuster subsidy deals reached with the federal government in recent years included guarantees to maintain Canadian auto jobs — as government officials have repeatedly said. Speaking to a House of Commons committee, the former president for Stellantis Canada, Jeff Hines, sought to underscore the company's commitment to the Canadian auto sector, but would not directly address whether protections for existing positions had been inked in past deals. “We are committed to our employees in Brampton, our employees in Canada,” he said. "The dynamics of the contact and the contact signed, some of that is obviously going to remain confidential ... but we are committed to maintaining the workforce in Canada." His appearance follows weeks of harsh criticism over the company’s plans to build the Jeep Compass, previously earmarked for the Brampton, Ont., plant, at the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, leaving workers in limbo. Hines was named the head of North America fleet solutions at Stellantis last week. Prior to that, he was the automaker’s president for Canada. The company, which is behind brands including Dodge and Chrysler, has around 9,000 Canadian employees, and as Hines noted, has plans to hire 1,500 more in the automotive capital of Windsor, Ont. Hines said the company has invested $8.6 billion in the country since 2022 and wants continue expanding in Canada, but also highlighted economic and trade uncertainty as a factor in the company's future. Hines appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, which is doing an emergency study on the sector and the federal government’s financial deals with the company in wake of the news on the Brampton plant. The company maintains it has plans for its Brampton facility, which employed around 3,000 workers prior its shut down for retooling. Hines said the company is weighing several options for Brampton but couldn't say when a decision would be made, citing the economic environment. He acknowledged U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs were a factor in the decision to change course and build the Jeep product stateside, but said it wasn't the only one. Noting that the company is offering transfer opportunities for workers, Hines said Stellantis wants to find a solution to provide laid off workers in Brampton with a "long-term, sustainable operation." Federal government officials have said that Stellantis agreed to maintain its Canadian footprint — which includes the Brampton facility and a plant that builds minivans and muscle cars in Windsor, Ont. — as part of a $15 billion federal-provincial deal to build the country’s first electric vehicle battery plant in Windsor. CBC News has analyzed the documents and could find no such guarantee within the unredacted portions of the document, and the federal government did not respond to a request for comment by deadline. Hines on the Windsor Assembly Plant Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore Conservative MP Kathy Borrelli asked Hines about the company's operations in her riding in the automotive capital. Explaining that 24,000 workers in the area rely on the auto sector to provide for their families, she asked if the company will maintain its footprint in Windsor. "That is fully our intention," he said, adding that was excited about the company's future expansion to a third shift. He noted that the NextStar EV Battery Plant in Windsor has hired 1,000 people so far. The facility was expected to create 2,500 positions total. The committee was also expected to hear Wednesday from Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association President Flavio Volpe and leadership from Unifor, which represents workers with Stellantis and other Big Three automakers in Canada.
