13 December 2008
Canada has agreed to issue some 2.8 billion dollars in aid to the country's auto sector once the United States agrees on a rescue plan for its carmakers, authorities said Friday.
The aid would be proportional to Canada's approximately 20 percent share of production by the "Big Three" US automakers -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- and depends on certain conditions, Industry Minister Tony Clement said.
"I am pleased to say that the government of Canada and the government of Ontario have agreed and are committing to support the auto industry," Clement told reporters.
"This support will be at an amount that would be approximately proportional to our share of the Detroit three production in North America," which amounts to some 20 percent of the 14-billion-dollar figure being discussed in the United States.
"It is up to the automakers with their parts suppliers and the unions to work together on a long-term solution for their industry. Governments can decide to help but these decisions will only be made in the best interests of the taxpayer," Clement added.
"Any action by the federal and provincial governments to support the auto sector as it restructures must be equally integrated with action taken by the United States," he said.
"The federal and the Ontario governments are prepared to move quickly if and when the Americans approve a support package."
The US Senate on Thursday voted down a proposal to loan 14 billion dollars to beleaguered automakers, prompting the White House to say it may tap a 700-billion-dollar rescue package to save US automakers from immediate collapse.
The US Big Three automakers announced earlier Friday they would shut plants in Canada during January amid falling market demand.
Last week, Canadian subsidiaries of GM, Ford and Chrysler asked for some six billion Canadian dollars (4.8 billion US) from Canadian authorities to restructure their activities in Ontario, the heart of Canada's auto industry.
Source: uk.news.yahoo.com
