The Ontario government has written off a $445-million loan to automotive manufacturer Chrysler, saying it has "no legal recourse" to collect it, CBC.ca reported. The $445-million figure was part of a loan issued by the governments of Canada and Ontario in 2009 to bail out the then-struggling corporation, which had filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S. in the wake of the world economic crisis. The company was eventually bought out by Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat, leading to the creation of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) holding company in 2014. FCA says it has repaid all its original loans. Emily Hogeveen, a spokesperson for Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips, explained the federal government wrote off their portion of the loan in March 2018. "Given the structure of the loan, once the federal government made the decision to write off their portion, there was no legal recourse for Ontario to further recover funds," she said. "This decision has no impact on our fiscal plan, as this debt was accounted for in the years following non-payment," said Hogeveen.
