Conservative auto sector promises are too little too late

Government loan for Linamar today comes after the Conservatives oversaw the loss of more than 50,000 auto sector jobs.

“Liberals and Conservatives have allowed a generation of middle-class jobs to disappear in industries like auto,” said NDP finance critic Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley). “The Auditor General has reported that the Conservatives mismanaged funds that were earmarked for supporting the auto sector, which means Canada has lost out on billions of dollars in investments and thousands of jobs.”

Canada’s auto sector has suffered nearly a 30% drop in employment between 2005 and 2012. In 2013, Canada failed to attract any of the $17.6 billion dollars in global investment in assembly plant capacity. Since 2008, the Conservatives have announced one billion dollars in funding for the Auto Innovation Fund, but only $131 million had actually been paid out at the time of the AG report last fall.

“Canada has lost nearly 400,000 manufacturing jobs since Harper took over. It’s time for change, yet the Liberals have no plan to support job creation” said Cullen. “Tom Mulcair has the leadership and experience to work with our auto sector and help spur the next generation of middle-class jobs.”