Woodstock, Ontario — On Nov. 28, the Ontario government announced a job site challenge to identify construction-ready sites where automakers or manufacturers could invest in Ontario by building a large plant, creating a wealth of both direct and supply-chain jobs for the province.
Prabmeet Sarkaria, associate minister of small business and red tape reduction; Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job creation and trade; and Ernie Hardeman, local MPP and minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs, made the announcement at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada (West Plant) in Woodstock, Ont. The challenge—a first for the province—invites municipalities, economic development agencies and industrial property owners to propose ‘mega sites’: large plots of land between 500 and 1,500 acres that are already zoned—or could be—for heavy industrial use.
According to the provincial government, potential sites will be evaluated based on predetermined criteria. When the province acquires an inventory of possible sites, it will launch a marketing campaign to showcase them to international and domestic investors. The first sits are expected to be made available to investors in the fall of 2020.
“One of the biggest barriers that automakers face if they want to build or expand an auto assembly plant is the availability of large-scale sites,” said Fedeli. “Through the job site challenge, we’ll identify the best sites in the province that can help bring good-paying jobs to the community. A new auto assembly plant—like the eight we already have in Ontario—would create thousands of jobs for hardworking Ontarians.”
The province will begin accepting proposals on Jan. 1, 2020. The submission deadline is Mar. 31, 2020.
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