Oshawa Once Helped Change Canada. Why Can't It Do It Again?

By Dale Jodoin Columnist                                               Have you ever wondered how many inventions began with somebody sitting in a little workshop, scratching their head and saying, "There has to be a better way"? We tend to imagine inventions coming from expensive laboratories, universities or scientists with impressive degrees. But sometimes history tells a different story. Take Oshawa, Ontario. Most Canadians know Oshawa for General Motors. But long before the automobile assembly lines, this community was already making a name for itself through craftsmanship and innovation. In 1880, Robert McLaughlin patented an improved steering mechanism known as the McLaughlin Gear, helping establish his reputation as a carriage maker. Imagine Oshawa back then. Dirt roads, horses pulling wagons, blacksmiths hammering away and craftsmen building things by hand. Nobody was talking about electric vehicles or artificial intelligence. Yet the foundation of an automobile industry was taking shape. By 1907, the McLaughlin company was experimenting with automobiles. In 1908, Oshawa craftsmen were building bodies for McLaughlin Buick cars. One generation built transportation powered by horses. The next helped put Canadians behind steering wheels. Then there was the Pedlar company, manufacturing metal roofing, decorative building materials and prefabricated structures that travelled beyond Oshawa. Not everything was invented here. Sometimes innovation means taking an existing idea and making it better. But here's something we forget. We remember the wealthy industrialists. Their names appear on buildings, streets and historical plaques. What about the ordinary workers? The machinist who improved a piece of equipment. The carpenter who discovered a better way to build something. The factory worker who had an idea nobody bothered to listen to. How many inventions never saw daylight because somebody lacked the money or connections to develop them? And that brings me to Oshawa today. We hear plenty about economic development, innovation and attracting investment. City plans are filled with impressive language. But what does any of that mean to the ordinary person sitting at a kitchen table with an invention? Someone who has built something different but doesn't know where to take it? Are we helping that person, or simply waiting for another large corporation to arrive? Here's an idea for Oshawa's next city council. Why not hold regular public invention fairs? Not expensive conferences where everybody wears a suit and talks about millions of dollars. I'm talking about opening a community centre or public building and inviting ordinary people to bring their inventions. A retired mechanic with a new tool. A grandmother who designed something useful for the kitchen. A student with a simple mechanical idea. A tradesperson who figured out how to make a difficult job easier. Give them tables, demonstration space and an opportunity to show what they've created. Invite local manufacturers, machinists, business owners and people who understand patents and product development. Let inventors meet people who might help turn their ideas into something real. Universities and colleges could participate, but they shouldn't control the event. This should belong to the people. And participation should be affordable, preferably free. Perhaps one invention becomes a business employing five people. Another becomes a product manufactured locally. A third might never succeed, but its creator learns something valuable. Isn't that how innovation begins? Oshawa doesn't need another impressive report sitting on a shelf. It needs opportunities where ordinary people can walk through the door and be taken seriously. We cannot bring back yesterday, but we can give tomorrow's inventors a chance. And this isn't just about Oshawa. Every community across Canada has people with ideas, skills and imagination. So the next time you're sitting around the coffee table, ask yourself something. What did your little community invent or improve that helped change Canada? And perhaps the bigger question is this. How many inventions that could change Canada tomorrow are sitting in somebody's garage today, simply because nobody has opened the door?