Ontario, Ottawa going to Washington to suss out auto aid package

An Ontario cabinet minister says he'll join federal Industry Minister Tony Clement in Washington this week to gather information about a possible U.S. aid package for the struggling automakers.

Clement and Michael Bryant,Ontario's economic development minister,will travel to the capital to "try and best determine both the timing and the potential U.S. package," Bryant said.

But he also warned that if funding isn't provided before president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January, there could be a "critical situation with respect to the liquidity of one of the auto companies."

"In those circumstances, Canada could play a pivotal role," Bryant added.

"But taxpayers want to make sure that in exchange for playing a pivotal role, the public interest is served in terms of guarantees and in terms of upside for playing that rescue role.

"And those are the kinds of things that we are going to be talking about looking at when Minister Clement and I are in Washington this week as, of course, the premier and the prime minister continue to talk."

Bryant didn't name the automaker, but both General Motors Corp.and Chrysler LLCare in dire straits, with many analysts predicting that Chrysler will not survive without government funding or a new partner.

Clement, who could not immediately be reached for comment, mused last week about the possibility of a joint Canada-U.S. bailout of North America's hard-hit auto industry.

It's imperative that Canada move to help automakers before the Americans do, Bryant said.

It would put Canada in a better position to negotiate the terms and "ensure that we are not locked into a proportion that is unrealistic for Canada," he added.

"If Canada is to be treated like a banker of last resort for the automakers in this extreme circumstance, then as governments, we need to act like bankers," Bryant said.

The lawmakers must obtain "security" to ensure that companies don't profit from any taxpayer dollars if they end up filing for bankruptcy somewhere down the line, he said.

They also need to make sure that jobs stay in Ontario, the heartland of the country's auto industry, Bryant said.

But the minister refused to speculate on what the province should contribute to any potential aid package.

The trip is the latest sign that the federal Conservatives and Ontario Liberal government have buried the hatchet at least temporarily over the province's ailing economy.

The two sides have sparred before on what to do to stimulate economic growth, but seem to have reached a truce in recent weeks as concerns about the troubled auto industry grew.