Mayor John Tory has voiced support for a motion to stop purchasing Mexican-made General Motors vehicles for the City of Toronto’s fleet, should the company proceed with a plan to close its Oshawa plant and cut 2,600 unionized jobs.

Councillor Mike Layton’s motion, expected to be discussed next week, calls on the city to “evaluate and change its purchasing practices” of GM vehicles manufactured in Mexico “unless General Motors maintains production in Oshawa and at its other Canadian facilities.”

“At a time of record profits, General Motors plans to close its plant while the company continues to expand production in Mexico,” the motion says.

“The closure of the Oshawa Assembly Plant would result in the loss of thousands of Canadian jobs, taking livelihoods away from the very people who bailed General Motors out when it was facing bankruptcy.”

In a statement to the Star Thursday, Tory said he wanted to hear from city staff about the feasibility of the plan.

“But right now, I plan to support the motion,” he said.

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“I have been outspoken about the devastating impact that the closure of GM Oshawa will have on families in our region. As I said last year, Toronto will not be immune to the impact of this impending closure,” he added.

“I have been clear that I am committed to doing everything we can to protect jobs and bring new jobs to Toronto, Oshawa, and the surrounding region to ensure that generations to come can continue to build their lives here.”

Of the 5,500 vehicles and parts in the city’s fleet, 372 are currently produced by GM, according to the motion, which council is scheduled to considered on Feb. 26.

The motion is subject to referral to the city’s government and licensing committee, however, and requires a two-third vote to waive that referral.

Mexican-made GM cars can be distinguished from Canadian-manufactured ones because they have a vehicle identification number that starts with three.

Layton said he did not know how many Mexican-made GM vehicles were currently in the fleet, but said the motion was a “pretty strong signal to a corporation when the City of Toronto says, ‘we stand in solidarity with workers on this matter.’”

Mexican GM workers are paid significantly less than their Canadian counterparts, he added.

“That should be factored into our procurement practices to ensure that we’re not only purchasing from companies with good environmental performance but also companies that are good social employers,” he said.

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Unifor, the union that represents GM workers, has called the planned Oshawa closure a “betrayal not only to their own employees but to all Canadians who supported them when they were facing bankruptcy.”

In 2009, the Canadian government provided almost $14 billion in aid to the country’s struggling auto sector, including GM, of which a total of $3.5 billion was never recouped.

The wind down is also the subject of an active grievance filed by Unifor, which argues that GM violated “express language” in its collective agreement that promised no closures until September 2020, when their contract was set to expire.

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