20071114/加拿大央行称无倾斜政策扶持安省工业

Bank of Canada says no special help forthcoming for Ontario industries
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 | 12:45 PM ET
CBC News

The senior deputy governor at the Bank of Canada says there will be no special help for Ontario manufacturers struggling to cope with the high Canadian dollar.

Paul Jenkins made the comments on Wednesday at the Ontario Economic Summit, being held at Niagara-on-the-Lake.

It is financial markets that determine the strength of the Canadian dollar, not the Bank of Canada, he said.

“The recent sharp appreciation of the Canadian dollar is outside the bounds of what historical experience would suggest,” Jenkins told the conference.

Linda Hassenfratz, president of the auto parts company Linamar, said the high dollar is costing her company $30 million a year. The Ontario government should cut its corporate tax rate to compensate, she said.

“The federal government has stepped up with proposed tax cuts to take us to 15 per cent by 2012. We need the provincial government to cut as well,” she said.

But so far the provincial finance minister has refused.

The Ontario government counters that it has already provided $2 billion in tax cuts to businesses since it was first elected in 2003.

The Liberal government also announced on Wednesday it is helping to create a $165-million fund to assist the province’s startup companies.
The province will kick in $90 million, while the remaining $75 million will come from private investors.

RBC Capital Partners, the Business Development Bank of Canada and Manulife Financial are among the companies that will chip in cash.

The Ontario Venture Capital Fund will help encourage new companies to put down roots in Ontario and create well-paying jobs, Premier Dalton McGuinty said.

The province says Ontario often attracts a large number of startup companies but they have difficulty surviving because they can’t attract investors.

McGuinty said this first step is just the beginning and Ontario will look for more private investment to grow the fund down the road.