Federal minister outlines tariff-response programs, but unions say goal must be zero tariffs

The federal government made a stop in Windsor, promising to help local auto workers. CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru tells us what this means moving forward.

Federal Minister Rechie Valdez was in Windsor on Friday, reiterating a suite of federal programs aimed at protecting auto workers and suppliers from the ongoing uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs.

Speaking at the Unifor Local 444 hall, Valdez detailed measures first unveiled by Ottawa earlier this month, including extended Employment Insurance benefits, new training initiatives and targeted financial aid for suppliers.

“We’re investing $450 million to upskill 50,000 workers across the country,” said Valdez, Canada’s minister of women and gender equality and secretary of state for small Business and tourism .

“That will come through employer-based training, short courses and career counselling, giving you the guidance you need to support you in upskilling.”

The minister also pointed to changes to Employment Insurance that will provide long-tenured workers with an additional 20 weeks of benefits, bringing the maximum up to 65 weeks.

The extension takes effect Oct. 12 but applies retroactively to June 15, meaning those already receiving EI will see their benefits lengthened automatically.

Ottawa has also eliminated the one-week waiting period for new claims and removed rules that previously delayed EI payments if a worker received severance.

For businesses, Valdez emphasized supports first announced Sept. 5 under a national tariff-response package.

Those measures include grants of up to $1 million for small and medium-sized suppliers, along with liquidity loans of up to $5 million through the Business Development Bank of Canada.

A $5-billion Strategic Response Fund is also being established for larger companies in the auto supply chain to retool and modernize operations, with the aim of keeping work in Canada rather than shifting it to the U.S.

Union leaders welcomed the supports but stressed the bigger battle remains preventing tariffs altogether.

“It’s a good announcement, but t’s not the most important announcement,” said James Stewart, president of Unifor Local 444.

“The most important announcement will be when they announce zero tariffs on auto parts and auto. The ultimate goal has to be zero tariffs.”

Stewart, along with other Windsor labour leaders, pointed to a meeting last month between Unifor and 50 Liberal MPs as a turning point, giving local workers a chance to stress how devastating tariffs would be to Windsor’s auto economy.

Unifor Auto Council president John D’Agnolo said even a modest tariff could trigger massive job losses.

“We’ve made it clear to them it has to be zero. It cannot be five per cent. The impact of that would still be thousands and thousands of job losses. So we will hammer that until the end.”

Emile Nabbout, president of the Unifor Independent Parts Supplier Council, said reforms to EI will help, particularly changes to severance treatment, but warned business support must come with strings attached.

“This is another step to make sure businesses that are really hurting get support — but it has to be tied to conditions, not just handing out money to do an investment and then walking away.”

Valdez said feedback from Windsor workers directly shaped the package.

“None of this works without the workers who put these priorities on the table. That’s all of you.”