We’re open and ready for business, thought Joe Preston, MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, as he sat in the driver’s seat of a shiny new all-electric Ford Focus yesterday and took it for a test drive in the back parking lot of Parliament Hill.
 
Frank Stronach, chairman of the board and CEO for Magna Int’l introduced their new vehicle to Members of Parliament and the media.  Stronach is approaching the government of Canada to speed up the manufacturing of the electric car business in Canada.
 
Preston discussed with officials from Magna the potential of building this car in St. Thomas.  He then brought it immediately to the attention of the Federal Industry Minister.  Preston feels this would be a great opportunity for our Region; an area that has been hit hard with the recent struggles of the manufacturing sector. “We have the trained labour force here! We have the facilities here! We have excellent infrastructure and access to both Canadian and American markets.  Yes, we are open and ready for business!”