Believed to be the place where a new generation of Ford V-8 engines will be built.......
From Globe & Mail
WINDSOR, ONT. — Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Wednesday that Ottawa will give Ford Motor Co. of Canada up to $80-million in assistance to help it produce more fuel-efficient engines at a once-mothballed Windsor plant.
The pre-election aid is the first direct cash the Conservatives have given to auto makers since taking power and is a bid to quell charges they have done little to salve the pain being felt by Ontario's battered manufacturing sector.
The campaign-style announcement also helps shore up support for Tory candidates in the Windsor area including area MP Jeff Watson.
"We are doing our part to create better jobs for both today and tomorrow, while ensuring that Canada remains an auto sector leader on the world stage," Industry Minister Jim Prentice said.
The federal money comes from the Harper government's $250-million Automotive Innovation Fund announced in the 2008 budget. It's a repayable contribution that Ford must give back over time.
The federal cash will be $42.3 million in initial contributions to assemble cutting-edge and more fuel efficient engines at the currently idled Essex plant. Ottawa will contribute another $23.2-million for a Ford research centre that will develop new diesel and powertrain technology for autos. Finally, the federal government will kick in another $14.5 million to the engine production project if "market conditions (are) ... favourable" and Ford invests a specified further amount.
The Harper government will move to shore up its economic credentials in hard-hit and vote-rich Ontario today by doling out cash to key Detroit auto makers just days before an expected election call.
Sources said earlier this week the government is also preparing announcements for other sectors.
Ford wants to build a new, more fuel-efficient V8 engine at the Essex, Ont. plant, which was closed last November, but reopened earlier this year when the Ontario government provided about $17-million to support the first phase of the V8 project.
The announcements are a clear effort by the Tories to buttress their argument that they are best equipped to navigate increasingly turbulent economic waters, particularly in Ontario, where the manufacturing industry has been battered.
The federal government has not been on good terms with the Ontario government and can expect to be pressed by Premier Dalton McGuinty for assistance. Mr. McGuinty has argued for the past three years that Ottawa shortchanges Canada's most populous province on a variety of programs, including benefits for the unemployed and health care.
“We want fairness,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters yesterday. “We'll be asking all the federal party leaders to put forward their position in terms of how they're going to address the unfairness, which visits Ontarians to this very day.”
Ford has been seeking money from both levels of government for the second phase of its project. The total investment by the company and government is expected to exceed $600-million.
GM has been negotiating with Ottawa and Ontario for more than a year for support to build a more fuel-efficient transmission in St. Catharines.
David Paterson, GM's vice-president of government and environmental affairs, would not comment.
The Windsor move could boost the Tories' chances of keeping the nearby Essex seat held by Jeff Watson in the face of criticism from the Canadian Auto Workers.
The GM investment would give a boost to incumbent Tory Rick Dykstra, who wrestled the St. Catharines seat away from the Liberals in the 2006 election.
An election call is expected to come by Monday, the same day the Tories are to present their final arguments in a court case over their advertising methods in the previous campaign.
Elections Canada has served notice it plans to introduce potentially damning information from an investigation of the 2006 so-called in-and-out scheme.
However, the Conservatives successfully delayed their final argument in the court case until Monday. Opposition MPs said yesterday that this could help the Tories, because a responding final argument from Elections Canada will likely not be entered in the court file until after the anticipated election date of Oct. 14.
Elections Canada lawyer Barbara McIsaac gave notice last week that she intends to introduce an Elections Canada affidavit and background information that convinced a judge to authorize a warrant to search Tory headquarters last April.
The affidavit, which includes allegations the Conservatives shifted ad expenses to election candidates to skirt the party's $18.3-million campaign expense limit for the 2006 election, has so far not been entered as evidence in the case.
Source:
globeandmail.com: Ottawa gives Ford plant a boost
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