Ontario taxpayers could join the American government as part-owners of General Motors, Premier Dalton McGuinty suggested yesterday in reaction to the troubled automaker’s massive restructuring plan.
GM could be majority-owned by the U.S. government under the plan unveiled Monday, which included an offer to swap $27 billion US in bond debt for GM stock and the shutting- down of the Pontiac brand.
The Ontario government would be willing to consider taking an equity stake in GM to help the company survive, McGuinty said.
“I think we’ve got to be very pragmatic about the role that we might be called upon to play when it comes to the auto sector and putting one company or the other on a solid footing,” he said.
“I just don’t think we can enter into this with any preconceptions or bias.”
McGuinty said the province is trying to determine exactly what it needs to do to make the industry viable so Ontario can maintain its 20 per cent share of GM’s North American jobs and 25 per cent share of Chrysler jobs. “It’s not an easy issue, there’s no doubt about that, but we still think there’s good reason to believe we can put these particular businesses on a solid footing,” the premier said.
Economic Development Minister Michael Bryant said any equity stake the province takes in GM would not be significant.
