Where should manufacturers spend their political capital?

The monument of Stonehenge sits stoically in the heart of southern England’s Salisbury Plain. Nearby runs Shakespeare’s famous River Avon.

Built in several stages throughout both the late Neolithic and early Bronze Ages, the first henge, or ring-shaped feature, dates as far back as 5,000 years ago. The familiar stone circle comprising the large sarsen stones and smaller bluestones was erected a few centuries later, in about 2500 BCE.

Many purposes for this monolithic stone project have been thrown into the global narrative over the years. Of them all, the only one that I’m sure is wrong is that it’s a portal to another dimension.

John Aubrey (1626-1697), one of the fathers of modern archaeology, was the first, although not the last, to claim the stone circle was the work of druids, a class of Celtic leaders. While this assertion was later debunked – the monument predates the druids by about 2,000 years – it hasn’t stopped self-identified, modern-day “druids” from flocking to the site.

Canadian manufacturing could use some of those leaders (or druids) at the moment.

This month we likely will see some initial border reopenings. While safety still needs to be of paramount concern, the slow pace and inconsistent rule interpretation have troubled manufacturers for the past 18 months. A recent announcement by the federal government about the border reopening also did not address the current challenges that many manufacturers face when trying to cross.

Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) even is calling on the government to remove all restrictions for manufacturing workers. It’s a message that should be applauded -- and repeated until it is heard.

Everyone who serves in the Canadian manufacturing sector knows that the North American supply chain is highly complex and integrated. These workers must cross the border frequently and need to do so easily. According to CME, while some essential manufacturing travel has been allowed during the pandemic, overall business travel has been dramatically curtailed, and this has had severe effects on Canadian industry.

“Even with exemptions, industry has continually faced inconsistent applications of the rules and quarantine exemptions not being upheld when workers arrive at the border,” said Dennis Darby, president/CEO of CME.

In 2020 the manufacturing sector in Canada employed 1,672,900 people. That’s also 1,672,900 votes, or nearly 10 per cent of the total number of ballots cast in the last federal election, according to Elections Canada.

In 2019 six ridings (Yukon, Quebec, Kitchener-Conestoga, Hochelaga, Port Moody-Coquitlam, and Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam) were won by a margin of 339 votes or fewer.

Imagine what 1.6 million votes could do.