News
Ontario’s supply chains and the lessons of COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has invigorated debates about the importance of Canadian manufacturing and the challenges associated with international supply chains during crises.
Over the last year and a half, these challenges have emerged as a top concern for industry stakeholders, whether they are related to semiconductors, vaccines, PPE, consumer goods, or building materials (in no particular order). Throughout all this, one organization has emerged in an effort to address these challenges: Reshoring Canada.
In this episode of ‘Making it in Ontario’, Nick and Brendan are joined by Sandra Pupatello and Tony Clement, the co-founders of Reshoring Canada. Once political adversaries, Pupatello and Clement have joined forces to promote the benefits of reshoring in Canada and advocate for pro-reshoring policies through collaborations with industry, government, and labour. These are issues that transcend party lines, and in our opinion, there are few persons better equipped to take on an initiative such as this than our friends Sandra and Tony.
As our partners and collaborators are well aware, we at the Trillium Network celebrate initiatives that 1) support manufacturing and 2) are informed by data. As such, there is lots to celebrate about the work being done by Reshoring Canada. Their work is data-driven. One of those sources of data is an ongoing survey of manufacturers and industry partners being conducted in collaboration with Trillium Network partners such as the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA), the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), the Canadian Tooling and Machining Association (CTMA), the Canadian Association of Moldmakers (CAMM), and Automate Canada. If you are a manufacturer or industry partner we strongly encourage you to take the survey. If you know someone who should take this survey, please pass this information along.
Initiatives like Reshoring Canada remind us how critical manufacturing and supply chains are to economic prosperity in Ontario and throughout Canada. To learn more about Reshoring Canada, check out their website, or better yet, take a listen to what Sandra and Tony have to say on this week’s episode of ‘Making it in Ontario’.
Timestamp
00:00-04:38 – Nix Intro
04:38-18:04 – Intro to guests and Reshoring Canada
18:05-25:56 – Why do we need to reshore? Why did we de-shore?
25:57-33:23 – “We want to be solutions-based.” How to move the needle – Data!
33:24-41:33 – The roles of government, business, and …the consumer?
02:52-47:19 – Nick’s greying beard, Asimo the Robot, Sandra paints a Daruma doll, & Tony’s non-joke
47:20-51:54 – Ontario’s competitive advantage
51:55-55:08 – Sandra’s Ubisoft story
55:09-1:01:08 – The importance of civility in and after politics