OSHAWA — GM has announced it plans to use a portion of its Oshawa plant to make a million masks a month for health care workers.
GM Canada made the announcement on Friday afternoon (April 24).
David Paterson, vice-president of corporate affairs for General Motors Canada, said the project was in the works even as community labour and environmental groups including Green Jobs Oshawa called for the manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the Oshawa site.
He said it started with efforts in the United States where the company began manufacturing ventilators and face masks. The latter gave GM Canada a head start because the company designed the machinery needed to manufacture high volumes of face masks and had sourced necessary material.
“We wanted to determine what is the work that is most needed and most useful in Canada and because we’re going to need millions and millions of face masks not just for health care professionals — although these masks will be for them — but also for all of us as we go back to work.”
Paterson explains GM has been working with the provincial and federal governments in recent weeks to figure out how the General Motors Michigan face mask project could be replicated in Oshawa.
“That requires us to have Health Canada manufacturing approval, of course we’re really good at manufacturing automobiles but we have not made medical devices before so we are now certified to be able to manufacture medical devices and we achieved that this week with Health Canada.”
Health Canada will be the sole customer for the million masks per month produced at the Oshawa plant and they’ll be distributed to the areas with the most need.
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The masks will be the surgical-type masks of which there are three levels and the masks made at GM will likely be level one, the highest level, with up to 10 million produced by the end of the year.
The machinery is expected to arrive sometime next week with production beginning within three to four weeks.
The masks will be manufactured at cost, meaning GM will not make a profit on them. Paterson explains the Oshawa site was selected not only because of its capacity but also because it has clean room capacity meaning the masks can be manufactured in a sanitary manner.
He gave kudos to Oshawa mayor Dan Carter for supporting the project and expressed his pride in his company.
“I would say today’s the proudest in all of my days at General Motors because it feels great to be helping in this emergency, the fact that we could pull this together and do it so quickly.”
Paterson also noted that GM Canada engineers have been working with Ontario Tech on the 3D printing of face shields and the company has taken the lead in collecting PPE in the auto sector.
Unifor national president Jerry Dias welcomed the announcement.
“This is an example of GM stepping up, it’s incredibly important based on their stature in the Canadian economy that they’ve announced this positive step,” the union leader said. “We’ve been working on this with GM for quite a while and the bottom line is a million masks a month is huge. It’s going to lead to the recall of 50 of our members.”
The workers will be on two shifts working six days a week, said Paterson.
Dias said the scramble for PPE shows the consequences of relying on overseas manufacturing.
“We should never ever be this vulnerable as a nation again. The fact that we’re not prepared for this is a government embarrassment or it should be if it’s not … we should never be caught in this situation again where we’re dependent on another country.”
He added that flaws in the global supply chain were exposed not only in the manufacturing of PPE but many other products as well.
“Canada has to be in a situation where not only do we have adequate supply but are in a situation to build and be self-sufficient for the future.”
Rebecca Keetch, a representative for Green Jobs Oshawa, agreed with Dias’s assessment.
“We are very excited to hear General Motors is retooling a portion of its Oshawa facility to help support the urgent need for PPE as Green Jobs Oshawa has been advocating,” she said. “This is a common sense step in the right direction. However, this should not be a temporary measure. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown we must protect our manufacturing capacity in Canada to maintain our preparedness for the present challenges we face, any future medical crisis, and the looming climate crisis as well.”
Oshawa MPP Jennifer French recently wrote to Premier Doug Ford advocating for PPE manufacturing in Oshawa.
“I am glad that General Motors and the federal government have recognized the clear opportunity for the plant in Oshawa to meet health care needs and manufacture what is needed during this unprecedented challenge,” she said in reaction to the news on Friday. “Workers in Oshawa have the heart, the ability, the experience, and the capacity to produce what is desperately needed.”
French said she is relieved Oshawa will be able to manufacture masks to protect people during a global pandemic.
“This was never an ask for Oshawa – it was an ask for Canada.”
Oshawa MP Colin Carrie also supported the move.
“I am glad to see that General Motors was able to expand their PPE production to Oshawa,” he said. “There is no doubt that our workers in Oshawa will answer the call to produce PPE for all of Canada. This is a great step in ensuring that Canada becomes self-reliant to produce the health and safety products we need.”
