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<\/p>\nPreventing the Brampton Stellantis plant property from being used for anything other than the auto sector could prevent the American company from \u201creneging on their obligations\u201d to the auto plant\u2019s 3,000 workers, Brampton Mayor Brown says.<\/p>\n
A motion passed by Brampton City Council on Wednesday will see the city zone the land where the plant sits used \u201cexplicitly for the purposes of automotive assembly and related automotive manufacturing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, if Stellantis thinks they can go and build condos there, they can fly a kite \u2013 this is for auto jobs,\u201d the mayor said in council chambers on Wednesday, leading to applause from the audience which included plant workers and members of Unifor Local 1285.<\/p>\n
Stellantis, which employs around 3,000 workers in Brampton, announced in October that the production of the Jeep Compass was being shifted away from Brampton to the U.S., despite years of assurances that the Jeeps would be built in Canada.<\/p>\n
The Stellantis plant property was gifted from the city to Chrysler back in the \u201880s, before transitioning to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and eventually Stellantis. The motion passed on Wednesday means the property can only be used for auto sector jobs \u2013 a move that could \u201cmake sure those jobs come back to our city,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
The company has also received production and job incentives from Premier Doug Ford and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and stepping away from those deals is \u201coffensive to Brampton\u201d and \u201can insult to the hardworking, life-long dedicated workers at the plant,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n
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Part of the plant property was broken off and sold last year to help pay for the plant\u2019s retooling, Coun. Gurpartap Singh Toor said.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Union pushing Stellantis to re-open Brampton Assembly plant<\/a><\/p>\n The motion passed with the unanimous support of Brampton City Council, and Brown said Ford is \u201centhusiastically supportive\u201d of the move. Ottawa has also launched a dispute resolution process against Stellantis over the company\u2019s decision to move from Brampton to the U.S.<\/p>\n Vito Beato, president of the union representing Stellantis auto workers in Brampton, echoed Brown\u2019s comments and said that the zoning motion \u201cshouldn\u2019t matter\u201d to Stellantis if they really do have \u201cbig plans for Brampton.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown said Stellantis has allowed itself to be \u201cbullied\u201d by President Donald Trump\u2019s attack on Canada\u2019s economy with tariffs, while Beato said Stellantis is \u201cappeasing\u201d the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Speaking to reporters at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto earlier this month, Stellantis Canada CEO Trevor Longley reiterated that the shutdown of the Williams Parkway plant was \u201ca pause\u201d and that the company still intends to build cars in Brampton.<\/p>\n And while the company has repeatedly said they have \u201cbig plans\u201d for the Brampton plant, Brown called those promises \u201cspin,\u201d \u201cPR and excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re trying to play a PR game to divert us from the fact that we don\u2019t have a product at this plant that was promised to us, that is owed to us, based on the subsidies that were given,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n