By Arden Henley
We can thank Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies and threats to our sovereignty for helping us to realize that in many ways we have become too dependent on the United States leading, in turn, to an overreliance on the extractive sectors of our economy such as coal, oil and gas. Now is the time to change direction.
Over decades we have let opportunities to develop our manufacturing sector slip away. As a result, highly trained engineers and skilled workers often leave the country for more promising work elsewhere. The cancellation of the Avro Arrow and the defunding of McDonald Detweiler’s work on the Canada Arm are examples of this trend. As my economist friend Ken McFarlane has argued a nation can ill afford not to make things. In addition to providing for our material needs manufacturing is a source of good jobs and in its cleantech variation consistent with Canada’s emission reduction targets.
Tooling up manufacturing is typically time consuming and capital intensive, but these are not typical times. A crisis is on our doorstep, the time for hesitation through. At the outbreak of World War II, virtually starting from scratch Canada become a powerhouse of armament manufacturing. By June 1943, each week 900,000 Canadian workers, men and women, were making six vessels, 80 aircraft, 400 motor vehicles, 450 armoured fighting vehicles, 940 heavy guns, 13,000 smaller weapons, 525,000 artillery shells, 25 million cartridges, 10,000 tons of explosives, and at least $4 million worth of instruments and communication equipment. Few if any of these armaments were built in Canada before the war. This information is cited by Seth Klein in a fascinating book ‘A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency’. Mobilization is now required for a slightly different, though related emergency. The point is: we can do it.
A case in point that aligns with GTEC’s environmental purpose is the production of a made in Canada electric vehicle. Canada has a head start in this venture because, under the leadership of Flavio Volpe, the Automobile Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) has already overseen the design, development and assembly of a working prototype, ironically dubbed the Arrow 2.0. The Arrow is made of 97% Canadian parts contributed by over 50 Canadian parts manufacturers. GTEC is urging the APMA to collaborate with GTEC in moving this from a prototype to production.
At the same time, based on the preliminary conversations about the Arrow, GTEC is convinced that a new civic coalition of partners, including non-profit societies, Indigenous entrepreneurs, academics and business, as well as government could collaborate to make this project happen. There are non-profit organizations representing demographic groups such as seniors and youth that also could well play a role.
With Indigenous engagement and the lessons about business that climate change and other developments are teaching us, GTEC also sees this as an opportunity to introduce different models of doing business, models that consciously take into consideration environmental, employee and community well-being and act as beacons of hope in the society.
The symbolism of the name Arrow reminds us of Canada’s Indigenous history and because of its association with the Avro Arrow offers us a unique healing opportunity. This is the moment for the Arrow to fly, to hit the target and contribute to Canada’s economic security and national well-being rather than constituting yet another missed opportunity.
Photo credit: Nong, Unsplash
Read articles on climate change, sustainability, education, and more from GTEC’s Communication & Media (formally GTEC Blog)! Read Arden Henley’s opinion piece Don’t Boo, Make Something and other articles related to electric vehicles here.
GTEC is at the forefront of solutions to the social and environmental challenges of our time. Our Climate Response Centre will be Canada’s first centre that combines a source of relevant and accessible educational and community development programming, and a centre of evolving community-based expertise about responding to climate change.