22 July 2004

President of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.

The following interview is excerpted from the 22 July 2004 edition of “globeandmail.com”.

Dennis DesRosiers founded DesRosiers Automotive Consultants in 1985, after working as an auto analyst with the Ontario Treasury from 1973 to 1979, and as director of research for the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association from 1979 to 1985….

Vaughan: Delays for security checks for trucks going into the United States choke the Ontario economy. And to make matters worse, the Canadian border guards' union has been in work slowdowns for higher pay, causing big delays getting back into Canada. How serious is the border issue for the Canadian auto industry?

DesRosiers: I personally think that the border is the No. 1 issue for the automotive sector in Canada. I just got back from a two-week business trip to Europe to promote Canada as a location for European suppliers. Every one of our competitors for investment in the various U.S. states are telling the Europeans that if they locate in Canada, they will have trouble shipping their goods to the United States.

In 1929, Canada opened up the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel and there were six lanes of highway between the two countries. Today, we still have only the six lanes of highway even though trade is 100 times greater. Every single day of the week, trucks are backed up for hours to cross the border. How can an industry dependent on just-in-time production survive with this situation?

The border tie-ups are costing Canada millions and possibly billions in new investments. At the rate we are going, it will be at least another decade before another crossing is built. That's totally unacceptable, we need additional border crossings now. The industry can't wait….