Unions call for 'Buy Canadian' policy

CAW president Ken Lewenza, left, and United Steelworkers national director Ken Neumann address the media in Ottawa on Tuesday.(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Two major unions added their voices Tuesday to a call by NDP Leader Jack Layton that governments adopt a "Buy Canadian" policy to save jobs.

Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza and Ken Neumann of the United Steelworkers say tax dollars spent on infrastructure projects should go to Canadian workers.

They spoke in Ottawa on Tuesday after General Motors announced it was cutting 10,000 white-collar jobs.

Their calls to for a "Buy Canadian" policy come after the federal government lobbied hard against efforts in Washington to attach a "Buy American" policy to a multibillion-dollar bailout program.

Lewenza said the federal and provincial governments are ready to spend billions without any guarantees the money will keep Canadians working. He said it's not protectionism, but common sense.

Neumann, national director of the United Steelworkers, said an economy can't prosper without a steel industry.

"This is not about fear-mongering … this is not about protectionism," said Neumann. "It's time this government stood up … we have just lost, as Ken [Lewenza] says, 129,000 jobs last month.

"This is the time we need to do something. We need to do something serious."

Last Tuesday, Layton urged that Canada should adopt a "Buy Canadian" strategy in response to the "Buy American" clause included in the proposed U.S. stimulus package.

During question period in the House of Commons, Layton said that there's a "golden opportunity" to boost slumping domestic sales with a "perfectly legal and appropriately designed 'Buy Canadian' strategy."