A real concern is that President Obama will be protectionist in his approach to Canada.
KAREN HOWLETT , GLORIA GALLOWAY and GREG KEENAN AND RICHARD BLACKWELL
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
November 13, 2008 at 2:48 AM EST
TORONTO AND OTTAWA — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says he is worried that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama will force the Detroit Three auto makers to repatriate jobs by pulling production out of Canada and Mexico in return for financial aid.
"My concern is that what a Democratic administration says is, 'We've got more money, but here are the terms. …We insist that those cars be produced in the United States,'" Mr. McGuinty told reporters last night.
He expressed hope it won't come to that, but said that is a good reason for the Canadian government to extract conditions from the domestic auto makers "sooner rather than later."
The Harper government is coming under mounting pressure to provide financial support to the Canadian auto sector, because every other region that produces cars and trucks, including the United States, the European Union and Australia, is putting up billions of dollars to get the industry back on a sound footing.
NDP Leader Jack Layton yesterday called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to include help for the auto sector in next week's Speech from the Throne. If Canada simply sits back and does nothing, this country would sacrifice its traditional role as the producer of a proportion of the cars made in North America, Mr. Layton told reporters.
"That would be a disaster for the economy," he said after his first meeting with Mr. Harper since the election.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
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