There’s hope Thunder Bay’s Bombardier plant will get the next contract for Toronto’s streetcars.
The Toronto Transit Commission recommends choosing Bombardier to build 13 light rail cars, and a contract for up to 60 could be awarded depending on federal and provincial funding.
Union representative Dominic Pasqualino says it’s “critical” to get the work, but admits a lot has to happen for the local plant to get the contract.
“They don’t say the plant, they actually say ‘Bombardier,’ so it’s up to Bombardier where they would build them. Hopefully we would be able to get the cars built in Thunder Bay, and get the 60-car order rather than just the 13-car order.”
Pasqualino explains while Toronto needs 60 streetcars, it is only able to afford 13 right now without provincial or federal help. He says the province and the feds will ultimately decide where the remaining cars are built.
Even the full 60 cars wouldn’t be enough to recall all of the workers who have been laid off, however. Pasqualino says the most recent batch of layoffs happened on Friday, and more are scheduled for the next few months and the new year.
To make a bigger impact on the layoffs, Pasqualino adds the plant is also hopeful Toronto will give them a contract for almost 500 Rocket subway cars.
The union also recently ratified a three-year contract with Bombardier.
