The Canadian Auto Workers union wants the government to offer General Motors and other vehicle makers financial incentives to keep assembly plants in the country, the Detroit News said.

In a letter to Allan Rock, Canada#;s minister of industry, CAW President Buzz Hargrove said: “Canada needs to take active measures to ensure that we retain a strong share of auto assembly investment and employment,” the Detrot News reported.

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The newspaper said that, in a letter copied to news organisations, the CAW cited GM’s Ste. Therese, Quebec, factory, set to close this year; Ford#;s Ontario Truck Plant in Oakville, Ontario, slated to be shut down; the DaimlerChrysler Pillette Road van plant in Windsor, Ontario, where the company has said it might have to close a facility; and Navistar International#;s Chatham, Ontario, heavy-truck factory, which the company has threatened to close.

The Detroit News said that, from July, the CAW will negotiate new contracts with GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler unit, and is trying to save jobs by retaining plants.

CAW workers at the Navistar truck plant went on strike last Saturday after failing to agree on cost cuts in contract talks, the Detroit News added.

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