Federal, Ontario governments talking investments with Canada’s big automakers

Dec. 5, 2016 – The federal and Ontario governments are actively discussing major investments in the big automakers.

Following the recent conclusion of labour negotiations, the auto companies are now in talks with the governments about investment opportunities in a sector that is a critical component of the Ontario and Canadian economies.

Federal Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains says Ottawa is open to investing in the automakers to help them expand their footprints in the country.

But Bains did not discuss what a potential deal could look like, nor would he share details on how much the federal government might invest.

The three largest North American automakers recently committed to pump more than $1.5 billion into their Canadian operations following contract talks with their unionized workers.

Jerry Dias, president of the Unifor union, says total government commitments could be as high as hundreds of millions of dollars and that the auto companies are only interested in grants — not loans.

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. 2016