About 900 former Ford workers are hoping to get their jobs back thanks to millions of dollars in bail-out funding announced Wednesday by the federal conservative government.
Up to $80 million over five years will go to reopening a Ford engine plant in Essex, Ont., about 30 kilometres south of Windsor. It will be used to develop a state-of-the-art flexible assembly line that can adapt to various models.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the election-style announcement surrounded by hard-hat-wearing workers at the mothballed Essex plant. He said $250 million will be spent over five years to support progressive vehicle designs and manufacturing.
"This is the kind of thing we'll continue to do if we get reelected," he said, moments after denying the announcement had any relation to the upcoming election. He said the money had already been approved by the government and was not new funding.
The Conservatives routinely criticized the Liberal Party's pre-vote spending during the last election.
The Essex plant shut down last year, costing the manufacturing industry about 900 jobs. Some of those employees eventually moved to Oakville, Ont. to work at the Ford plant there.
Windsor mayor Eddie Francis says he's "ecstatic" about the reopening.
Canadian Auto Workers Union president Buzz Hargrove is less positive, suggesting the government should have offered the money earlier instead of timing it for maximum political gain.
With files from The Canadian Press
