Poll: Canadians lukewarm on auto bailout

TORONTO, April 9 (UPI) -- Just over half of Canadians oppose the short-term government loans given the country's car makers, a poll released Thursday reported.

Almost two-thirds of those surveyed, 63 percent, said that General Motors of Canada Ltd. and Chrysler Canada Inc. should go bankrupt if they can't compete successfully with foreign manufacturers, the Toronto Star said.

The poll was done by Angus Reid for the Toronto Star. The poll was conducted April 3 and April 4, with 1,002 people surveyed and a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points either way.

In Ontario, the center of Canada's auto industry, public opinion is only slightly more in favor of the loans, with 46 percent in favor and 48 percent against them.

The federal and Ontario governments have guaranteed GM $3 billion in short-term loans with $1 billion to Chrysler. Only 12 percent of those surveyed said the companies should get more money and 3 percent that they should get as much as they need to stay in business.