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Ottawa: Ford Won't Get Aid For Windsor Plant

Finance Minister says Ford of Canada won't get direct financial help to reopen the engine plant because the government doesn't believe in targeted subsidies to specific firms.

TORONTO (CP) — There will not be direct financial aid to help reopen a Windsor, Ont., Ford of Canada engine plant, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says.
 
That's because the Harper government doesn't believe in targeted subsidies to specific firms, he added.
 
The minister said the Conservatives prefer to lower taxes for all businesses, as they've done with recent measures that he says should reduce the tax burden by $8 billion annually for manufacturers over the next five years.
 
Flaherty criticized the Ontario government's decision to provide $30 million to help reopen the engine plant, saying Premier Dalton McGuinty should lower business taxes first.
 
McGuinty said Wednesday that Prime Minister Stephen Harper made it clear when he met the premiers last Friday that Ottawa is not prepared to inject funding into specific projects.
 
''He told me very directly, 'look, I operate at the macro level. We'll cut taxes, offer some regional incentives, but we're not prepared to take it one step down,' '' the premier said.
 
Ottawa's lack of interest in direct aid raises questions about whether Ford will want to go ahead with the $300 million investment to reopen the plant.
 
Ford is seeking $60 million in government help to reopen its Essex Engine Plant in Windsor to assemble a new, more fuel-efficient V8 engine, industry sources said last week.
 
They said Ford would build the engine elsewhere if Ottawa did not come up with a $30 million contribution.
 
It's not clear whether Ford will proceed if Ontario comes up with the $60 million in aid on its own or whether the province is prepared to do that.
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