A group of former federal and provincial politicians have launched a new organization to promote a modern, secure and less risky supply chain.
Named Reshoring Canada, the group defines itself as a non-partisan advocacy organization, a fact borne out by a quick glance at its principles, former federal conservative Tony Clement, former provincial Liberal Sandra Pupatello, one-time Alberta politician Brian Storseth among others.
“The pandemic has exposed risk in our supply chains, a place where we didn’t know to look. This will make way to find solutions for our people and our economy,” said Clement, former federal Industry Minister and co-chair of this initiative.
Reshoring Canada will analyze and offer solutions to key stakeholders that can make changes to support our industries and secure jobs. Its first order of business will be to move from anecdotal evidence of risk to hard data. With the help of industry associations such as the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) and Ontario Mining Association, Reshoring Canada will be reaching out to businesses across the country to solidify the kind of data required to make substantial recommendations to government and other key stakeholders.
“Canada cannot rely on friendly neighbours or business savvy executives to make our supply chains work. The threat is real, and it’s coming from unforeseen directions,” said Pupatello, former Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade and co-chair of this initiative.
“New risks in our supply chain are national, coast to coast to coast, issues,” says Storseth, former Alberta parliamentarian and co-founder of this group. “This impacts every sector from oil and gas, to mining, to manufacturing, to food.”
The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in our supply chains that have caused manufacturers and exporters to rethink what we consider acceptable risks to productivity and competitiveness of our businesses,” said Dennis Darby, CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters. “The work of this organization is coming at just the right time to help provide the insights we will all need to navigate our way to a more prosperous sector and economy.”
“The pandemic and the new NAFTA have forced all of us to look inwardly and ask, ‘what should be made here’ and ask outwardly ‘what could be made here’,” said Flavio Volpe, President of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association. “We have the skills, resources and people – we need the will to reset the state of play.”
“We are pleased to work with Reshoring Canada to assess the current state of supply chains in the mining sector,” said Chris Hodgson, President of the Ontario Mining Association. “We know how important Canadian critical minerals are to the security, clean tech and manufacturing sectors. Yet foreign-controlled supply chains can mean Canada would remain in the back seat. It is time to prioritize our local supply chains.”
