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TORONTO – Union leaders and politicians who are talking about saving a General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ontario, are selling "false hopes," said Premier Doug Ford, while a spokesman for the company Opposition accused him of politicizing the closure to tackle the federal carbon tax.
Ford held a press conference after an emergency cabinet meeting on GM closing Wednesday afternoon. The prime minister accused Jerry Dias, the union leader representing the auto workers concerned, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other politicians who had promised to fight the closure.
"When we hear about these people, we simply hear a group of powerful people doing great demonstrations," he said. "They are busy fighting and raising false hopes. But in private, they know that the GM plant will not come back. "
Ford said the upcoming fight for the 2,500 auto workers affected by the plant's imminent closure is finding new jobs, and he promised to help them in this task.
He added that he thought the cabinet was considering this move for a long time and had speculated that if he had been prime minister before the June elections, he might have been able to avoid the closure .
"GM has not decided that within six months (after) that Doug Ford has taken over," Ford said. "In fact, if Doug Ford had been there for five years, they probably would not have left because I would have reduced their taxes, their electricity rates … and encouraged businesses to stay here."
WATCH: Doug Ford renews call for the abolition of the carbon tax following the closure of the GM plant in Oshawa, Ontario
At the press conference, Ford asked Trudeau to abandon his plan to impose a carbon tax on the provinces to boost job creation in Ontario and overall from the country. He invited Trudeau, whom he will meet at a conference of premiers in Montreal next week, to abandon the carbon pricing plan.
"You can not campaign for a job-killing carbon tax on Monday and sit around you wondering why jobs in the manufacturing and automotive sectors are disappearing on Tuesday."
READ MORE: Unifor official urges the federal government to give GM the "major" with the rates on closing the Oshawa plant
Ontario's environmental party leader Mike Schreiner said Ford was wrongly linking the closure of GM's Oshawa plant to pollution pricing.
"Politicizing the closing of the GM plant for an anti-climate crusade is irresponsible," said Schreiner. "Instead of attacking the clean economy, I ask the Prime Minister to seize this $ 26 trillion economic opportunity. I call on the Prime Minister to work with stakeholders to develop an automotive strategy for Ontario to lead the revolution (the electric vehicle) so that we do not lose jobs to jurisdictions that adopt electric vehicles. "
WATCH: Unifor head struggles to save GM plant in Oshawa
Dias fought back on social media at Ford, disputing the claim that it was more a question of looking for another job for the affected GM workers.
"Find new jobs? Seriously, is this the best that @fordnation can do? Dias said in a brief statement on Twitter.
READ MORE: Relations between Oshawa generals and GM workers are deeper than their name.
Met in Washington, DC, by a Toronto television channel, Dias responded to Ford's "false hope" by saying that the prime minister was offering "no hope" to workers in the auto sector and must be ashamed of himself.
NDP legislator Jennifer French, who represents Oshawa at Queen's Park, said families in the community have a year to fight against GM's decision – and plan to do so.
"I would never give false hope to anyone, but I will never give up on them," she said. "There is a big difference. We are faced with an uncertain and rocky road. But there is always something to fight. The Prime Minister underestimates Oshawa.
READ MORE: Affected by the closing of the GM plant in Oshawa? Here's how you can handle the stress of a layoff
Earlier Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would continue to fight for Oshawa workers. He has also championed the federal government's carbon pricing plan as a job creator.
"The best way to secure jobs for the future is to take real action against climate change and help our economy and families prosper during the transition to a cleaner economy," he said. he said during the question period. "MPs across the way have no plan and are trying to do politics instead."
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