Workers at General Motors in Windsor, Ont., will punch out for the last time Wednesday, as the automotive giant closes its transmission plant in the one-time heart of Canada's automotive industry.

The plant, which has 500 or so employees, will assemble its final transmission Wednesday afternoon.

The workers will gather for an informal drink of two at a nearby community building for a final farewell.

"There's not much to celebrate," said Bill Reeves, president of Canadian Auto Workers Local 1973, which represents GM workers in Windsor. "You know, you get that knot in your stomach and it just seems to be getting tighter and tighter."

Reeves will also be the last president for the union local, which will cease to exist after the plant closes.

GM was once one of the biggest employers in the border city, with more than 7,000 workers. The company facilities dwindled over the years to just one remaining plant, and in May 2008, GM eliminated 1,400 jobs in Windsor and announced it would close the transmission plant by the end of this month.

Opposition MPs grilled Industry Minister Tony Clement over his recent decision to scrap the mandatory long census form, accusing the Conservative government of "manufacturing a crisis" and deliberately misleading Canadians.

But Clement told a parliamentary committee in Ottawa on Tuesday that the government has sought to find a "balance" between collecting data and respecting Canadians' privacy.

Clement, in his opening remarks to the Commons industry committee, told MPs the government recognizes the information gathered in the long-form census is "valuable."

"However, we also recognize that a balance must be drawn when the government is collecting data under the threat of fines or jail or both," the minister said.

Canada's inflation rate dropped to the lowest level in eight months in June, as gas, footwear and clothing prices pushed the annual rate down to 1.0 per cent.

The rate dipped 4/10ths of a point from 1.4 per cent in May and from 1.8 per cent in April.

Volatile energy prices have affected Canada's inflation rate for the last several years, as the price of crude oil has swung from roughly $150 US per barrel in 2007 to roughly $50 during the depths of the recession in 2008-09.

In June, the overall energy component of the consumer price index was up, but gasoline prices were lower by 2.9 per cent from where they were a year earlier.

Prices rose year-over-year in seven of the components measured by Statistics Canada. Clothing and footwear was the only exception, declining 1.8 per cent.