New Democrats are calling on the Ontario government to acquire
an equity stake in General Motors (GM) in return for public investment that’s being made to prevent the auto company from disappearing.

“The news out of General Motors is stunning. The company’s restructuring could cost Ontario up to 38,000 jobs. Dalton McGuinty must stop the hemorrhaging of Ontario jobs now,” said NDP MPP Peter Kormos.

Today in Question Period, Kormos repeatedly asked Dalton McGuinty to take “bold and decisive action” to protect the interest of Ontario taxpayers in return for the billions of dollars of financial assistance that GM is receiving from the provincial government.

“We’re investing far too much money not to demand accountability for our investment and jobs for Ontario workers. It’s the earlier decisions the company made that created this mess in the first place,” said Kormos.

Reports out of the United States suggest that the Obama administration will insist on significant equity stakes for both government and workers in any GM restructuring south of the border.

“Why won’t the McGuinty government borrow a page from the Obama administration and insist on an equity stake in return for the substantial public investment that’s being made to prevent GM from disappearing altogether?” asked Kormos.