Welcome back, General Motors

In a year that hasn’t seen a lot of good, Oshawa has just seen a major win with the return of General Motors.

GM and Unifor recently announced the company will be returning to the Oshawa plant to construct heavy-duty and light-duty trucks. It will be the only plant in the world to construct these vehicles.

According to Unifor National President Jerry Dias, the reopening of the plant will create up to 2,500 jobs, and Unifor Local 222 President Colin James believes subsidiaries outside of the plant will see three times as many jobs created.

The reopening of the plant is a sign of renewed hope for Oshawa, after GM initially announced the plant would be closing two years ago now.

With it, the auto manufacturing industry will return to Durham, jobs will be created, and Oshawa and Durham can once again become one of Canada’s leading economic drivers in the auto sector.

Like the rest of the world, Oshawa has been in need of an announcement like this.

This year has seen the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires around the world, a contentious election just to the south which had everyone on edge, and so much more.

Like most of the world, Oshawa has spent the last several months forced to be inside, spending time apart due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In Durham alone there have been 3,347 total cases of the virus, and 182 have died.

Oshawa has seen 559 cases on its own, losing 23 of its residents to this deadly virus.

Alongside that, and in part because of it, homelessness has risen in Oshawa, and so many are in need of help.

Oshawa, like many other municipalities, has been on edge, and has been in need of a break, and this announcement has been just that.

Ultimately, it’s nice to see a win such as this, even if it’s only for Oshawa and the Durham Region. Welcome back, GM.