Premier Dalton McGuinty has opened the door to the possibility of bailing out GM pensioners despite earlier pledges that taxpayer dollars wouldn’t cover the retirees.
While discussions on the aid package for the struggling automaker are still underway and no announcement is expected until the June 1 deadline, McGuinty said the pensions costs are a sticking point that must be dealt with.
“It’s fair to say that we can’t resolve this unless we address some of their legacy costs,” McGuinty said yesterday.
That’s a sharp turnaround from the premier’s comments less than a month ago, when he said it wouldn’t be fair to ask other Ontario seniors to prop up GM retirees if the company files for bankruptcy protection.
At the time, McGuinty said Ontario had no plans to bail out General Motors pensioners by topping up the province’s safety net and would instead seek a broader solution to help all retirees caught in the pension crisis.
On Monday, federal Industry Minister Tony Clement said no federal money would go towards GM Canada’s pension shortfall.
