OTTAWA, March 11 (Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Wednesday it was flexible on the March 31 deadline for reaching agreements on bailouts for General Motors Corp and Chrysler.
'There had been some talk in Washington about extending that deadline. If that's necessary, then I think for the sake of a couple of weeks we can be flexible on that,' Industry Minister Tony Clement told CBC television.
'But, really, we do have to get to the point of deciding these things, so I'm hoping at the end of March or beginning of April we'll be there.'
Canada is working in parallel with the United States on long-term rescue plans for the two auto giants and had set the end of March for reaching agreements.
Clement also sought to clarify an impression he had left that a tentative contract deal between the Canadian Auto Workers union and GM Canada, reached over the weekend, had delivered insufficient union concessions.
Some analysts have said the CAW needed to cut labor costs by about 30 percent to make a difference, not the reduction of about 10 percent that some predict it has offered, but Clement said he was not offering an opinion on whether this was enough.
'It's not a deal breaker,' he told CTV television.
What he had been trying to convey, he said, was this was only one part of the puzzle and that there were other pieces, including management concessions and a long-term survival plan, that were needed.
CAW members were voting on the contract concessions, with the results expected around 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday.
Asked if the prevailing concept in North America was that GM and Chrysler were too big to be allowed to fail, he said: 'Absolutely right.' He pointed out that one out of 10 Canadian jobs is connected somehow to the auto sector.
(Reporting by Randall Palmer; editing by Rob Wilson) Keywords: AUTOS CANADA/DEADLINE (randall.palmer@thomsonreuters.com; +1-613-235-6745; Reuters Messaging: randall.palmer.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'There had been some talk in Washington about extending that deadline. If that's necessary, then I think for the sake of a couple of weeks we can be flexible on that,' Industry Minister Tony Clement told CBC television.
'But, really, we do have to get to the point of deciding these things, so I'm hoping at the end of March or beginning of April we'll be there.'
Canada is working in parallel with the United States on long-term rescue plans for the two auto giants and had set the end of March for reaching agreements.
Clement also sought to clarify an impression he had left that a tentative contract deal between the Canadian Auto Workers union and GM Canada, reached over the weekend, had delivered insufficient union concessions.
Some analysts have said the CAW needed to cut labor costs by about 30 percent to make a difference, not the reduction of about 10 percent that some predict it has offered, but Clement said he was not offering an opinion on whether this was enough.
'It's not a deal breaker,' he told CTV television.
What he had been trying to convey, he said, was this was only one part of the puzzle and that there were other pieces, including management concessions and a long-term survival plan, that were needed.
CAW members were voting on the contract concessions, with the results expected around 9 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday.
Asked if the prevailing concept in North America was that GM and Chrysler were too big to be allowed to fail, he said: 'Absolutely right.' He pointed out that one out of 10 Canadian jobs is connected somehow to the auto sector.
(Reporting by Randall Palmer; editing by Rob Wilson) Keywords: AUTOS CANADA/DEADLINE (randall.palmer@thomsonreuters.com; +1-613-235-6745; Reuters Messaging: randall.palmer.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.