Harper to Announce Auto Plan on Saturday

(Reuters – John McCrank)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will unveil an aid package for Canada’s auto industry on Saturday, responding to Washington’s move to provide U.S.-based automakers with $17.4 billion in emergency funding.

The Canadian package could amount to several billion dollars. The governments of Canada and the province of Ontario have said they would provide an amount proportionate to the automakers’ footprint in Canada, estimated at about 20% of North American production capacity.

Harper views the U.S. aid package as “a very positive development,” his spokesman said on Friday.

The spokesman declined to give more details of what Harper would announce on Saturday. The prime minister will appear with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. Read the complete article here.