'We will maintain our share' of auto industry: PM

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he believes General Motors will stay put in Canada and that the country will continue to have a strong auto industry, despite troubling economic times.

In a news conference on Tuesday in Toronto, Harper was asked whether he feared GM could declare bankruptcy or pull out of Canada entirely after the company recently decided not to take an emergency loan from the government.

"I’m not concerned about General Motors moving out of Canada. We’ve had good discussions with the company," Harper told reporters.

The government announced in December a plan to loan General Motors Canada up to $3 billion and Chrysler Canada up to $1 billion — totals based on the U.S. aid and proportional to their Canadian production.

Last week, GM Canada said it no longer needs the emergency loan because it was able to temporarily support itself through "cost-saving measures and access to other facilities."

Harper added on Tuesday that the announcement in December was for a short-term financing package to deal with immediate cash concerns. He said that they are anticipating there will be "greater loans involved in a longer-term restructuring."

Harper said there are a range of options and the restructuring will be extremely complex, but Canada will maintain a strong industry.

"We have to be frank here, not to say there will not be job losses, because we know there are some very tough decisions to be made, but I am confident, with our participation in the restructuring, that we will maintain our share of this industry in North America."

Although GM Canada declined Ottawa's loan offer, Washington is expected to give GM and Chrysler in the U.S. a second instalment of bailout loan funding Tuesday.

GM will receive $4 billion US on top of the $9.4 billion it got earlier, while Chrysler will get $3 billion on top of its earlier $4 billion, said a report from the Associated Press.