Just last month, the very last vehicle rolled off the production line at the Oshawa Assembly facility in Ontario. The GM plant was one of the biggest employers in the region, with more than 2,600 individuals working there prior to its closure. In a recent statement, Oshawa’s major, Dan Carter, said he was concerned by a new study that found a link between U.S. auto plant closures and a local spike in opioid overdose deaths.
According to the study, counties in which an auto plant closure had occurred in the last five years experienced an 85-percent rise in opioid overdose deaths. The study was published in the JAMA Internal Medicine medical journal, and co-authored by researchers from Yale University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and University of Pennsylvania.
Carter said that a new pilot project called Welcoming Streets will provide insight into the impact of the GM plant closure in the Canadian city. The major also acknowledged that GM, Unifor, and the Ontario government are working to implement programs to help those laid off to find new jobs.
“We have to do more,” Carter said Friday. “If you are suffering with mental health or addiction, if you are suffering through this transitional period, it is my job to make sure that I advocate and do everything possible to be able to help you through this period of time.”
Carter’s personal investment in the issue partly stems from his history as a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. “Because of my commitment and my past, I am absolutely committed to helping these people through this period of time,” Carter said.
So far, opioid overdose deaths in Oshawa have not risen since the closure of the local GM plant.
The Oshawa Assembly facility saw more than a century of vehicle production, but didn’t fall under GM control until 1954. It its peak, the plant employed upwards of 23,000 people.
The GM plant previously built the Chevrolet Impala and Cadillac XTS, while also providing final assembly for the previous-generation Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks.
Going forward, a portion of the plant will remain in operation, retaining roughly 300 jobs for parts production and metal stamping. The property will also be used for autonomous vehicle testing.
Comments
He was going to get a spike In opioid ODs plant or no plant.
Stop trying to pass the blame to someone other than the user.
They were taking the drugs already. Now you may have more crime because they are lacking income.
This is just a ploy for the guaranteed income movement some are promoting. You know where they just pay you for breathing and taking up space.
paying for being alive … isn’t that social security?
Yes with your own money you put in.
They want to pay homeless, drug attics and others who don’t even pay taxes or qualify for Welfare our tax money.
They want to put more people dependent on government. How better to control them?
i’d bet the vast majority get more out of social security than they put in.
if not for social security and medicare(another government benefit for being alive), you’d see millions of elderly in dire poverty.
i had jury duty in downtown los angeles last month so instead of battling traffic, i thought i’d take the bus for the first time. the route went through skid row. that was like a punch to the face. you have the mentally ill, poor, drug addicts living in 3rd world conditions. and a block away, they are putting up luxury condos.
if you have a good idea to fix that and it doesn’t involve spending a lot of money, the world wants to hear it and a nobel prize will be yours.
It is a complex difficult thing but first you vote out the political people who endorse this.
Many homeless are not down and out they are mentally ill. In California they don’t want to infringe on rights if these people. Yet it is turning into a health crisis and will lead to the death of these people.
I worked in the bad part of town and got to know many of these people. Most had money and were very intelligent. But they were off and needed help to get back to reality.
The only way to fight drugs is a strong family unit. Today kids either have bad examples too often or no example involved in their life. It is no wonder so many are in trouble.
My parents are what kept me from drugs, they kept me from running with kids that were bad influences. They made me mad at the time but today I am clean and alive while those bad influences are mostly dead.
If we look at the cultures that have strong family units the problems are so much less. Here in America too many are driven to the next drink or joint more so than taking care of their kids or being a positive influence to them.
We need to stop treating addiction as a illness and as a life style choice. We need to put the blame where it belongs and hold them responsible.
We no longer want to enforce accountability and holding people responsible.
I heard that was also a reason for lordestown as well.
I live in the Lordstown area and drugs and addiction has always been here. Just now with the harder drugs more people ,are dying,
Opioids are an issue in Parma where GM just added jobs. They are an issue in Dayton where GM is building several plants.
They are an issue in Toledo where GM and Jeep just invested a ton of money.
These stories are just passing the blame on.
Heck even the Amish community has drug issues.
It truly sad.
No word on any plant closures in Mexico.. Maybe we can afford new GM vehicles with pesos instead of dollars?
Dale
Ford, FCA, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Hyundai, KiA, VW, Audi, BMW & Mercedes all build vehicles in Mexico.
Dale would. Also complain about the price if they were not made in Mexico and refuse to pay the higher price too.
I am not a GM apologist. I can speak honestly and criticize or congratulate when it is needed.
It has nothing to do with GM. Today the American public says all day make it here then they go to Walmart and buy Chinese products because they are cheaper.
Same applies to some models of cars and trucks. This is why so much is mfg there by nearly every company.
AlSo the fact it is cheaper to export some of these models to third world counties too plays a big roll.
It is all about selling it as cheap as possible but still make a decent profit.
As it is now the market is closing to many buyers as they can no longer pay the high prices charged by all MFGs.
Peter – None of those companies you mention were bailed out by American tax payers, and only the first in that list is an American company. What exactly is so hard to understand about this?
And if you don’t see anything wrong with a subpar company getting bailed out only to continue building trash and then also exporting jobs, then keep buying those GM excretions.
Time to correct the lies again.
FCA took the loan when they were still American.
Ford took the loan through the department of energy. In September 2009, the Department of Energy issued a $5.9 billion loan to the Ford Motor Company that has yet to be paid back.
Nearly any of the 4n companies located to the states in mostly non union plants, they hired only younger people to control health care cost and nearly all got major tax breaks to locate where they did.
The savings enjoyed by this is something the BIG three could not due to union deals, too much capacity now.
Why is it so hard to include all the info on what is in play. Is it that hard for you to understand or do you have to be dishonest to make your non valid point?
Nice to see you in the comments again Magirus. I don’t always agree, but nice to have your perspective too.
GM is still being helped out with government welfare . First being helped out by the bailout in the early 2000’s when GM went bankrupt , then Trump passed the corporate tax rate to 21% , and that cash went to buying back stock for the Board of Directors , and again the Generals lobbyists ask Congress to allow them to save them money by allowing GM to produce their autonomous vehicles with no steering wheels .
Plus keeping the tax rebate for the sale of EV’s . All of this paid for by our tax dollars and the country going into debt by 1.4 Trillion dollars to pay for most of this .
GM is still too big and needs to shed it’s over capacity as EV’s become more prevelent . They don’t need badge engineered vehicles .
Drug use may explain why well engineered GM products had crappy assembly at Canadian plants. I never had a Canadian assembled product that was assembled correctly. I actually find the Mexican assembled vehicles to be of good quality. The union at GM Canada is the main villain in all of this.