Stellantis compelled to return to Ottawa committee Thursday

Stellantis is under fire as MPs are criticizing the company over not joining a recent meeting and not providing an unredacted document.

Stellantis is compelled to return to an Ottawa committee on Thursday after a company executive was unable to dial into a virtual meeting on Nov. 25.

The Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates expected to hear from a Stellantis official and to see the NextStar Energy contract.

Instead, MPs were faced with a document with redactions, and the Stellantis witness (Teresa Piruzza) was unable to virtually connect to the meeting.

“I am incredibly annoyed that Stellantis has not been able to join us,” Liberal MP Vince Gasparro said.

“It just adds fuel to my fire to stand up for my constituents,” Liberal MP for Brampton Iqra Khalid said.

The committee wants to ask Stellantis about its domestic production commitments considering the decision to idle Brampton assembly and shift Jeep production to the U.S.

The federal government has indicated their agreement with Stellantis to support the NextStar Energy battery plant in Windsor carried certain domestic production requirements at existing factories.

Committee members expected to see the fully unredacted contract with the government.

“The automotive industry is highly competitive, and the information provided to governments when participating in government programing is shared with the understanding that it will be protected,” Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Philip Jennings told the committee.

He said Stellantis chose which portions of the agreement to redact in consultation with the Ministry.

“I’m not sure if Stellantis is listening to us, but we’re saying you are working with taxpayer dollars. Who’s the boss? Is it democracy? Is it the government or is it the company?” Marie-Helene Gaudreau, a Bloc MP said through a French interpreter.

“I’m waiting for Stellantis here,” Kelly McCauley, a Conservative MP and Chair of the committee said while looking at his laptop.

“I’m not going to judge, but I’m not sensing a lot of desire for them (Stellantis) to address the IT issues.”

In a statement to CTV News, Stellantis said they couldn’t connect to the meeting link although they did conduct a proper test before the meeting started.

Government officials confirm Stellantis is expected to answer questions Thursday starting at 3:30 p.m.