Ken Mann
1/4/2013
The federal government is extending for another five years --- an auto sector fund that provides a
$250-million pool of investment cash for car companies and their suppliers to draw from.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement at the Ford plant in Oakville on Friday, stressing that the Automotive Innovation Fund has helped to generate 1.6 billion dollars in research and development since 2008.
The fund requires companies to invest their own money to access government cash.
The five-year renewal comes amid a controversy over government
assistance to the auto sector after GM recently announced that it will shift production of the Camaro from
Oshawa to a plant in Michigan in 2015.
A group of aboriginal protesters carrying ``Idle No More'' and ``Stop Harper'' signs were kept well back of the plant.
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