TORONTO -- Ottawa and Ontario will investigate whether any U.S. proposal aimed at helping struggling North American automakers will carry risks for Canada -- including job losses, the province's economic development minister said Tuesday.

"It is risk management on all sides," Michael Bryant said ahead of a joint U.S. trip with federal Industry Minister Tony Clement.

"In order to assess those risks before a decision is made, we need to see -- not just by reading reports but also by talking to people right there on the ground -- where those decisions are being made."

Bryant and Clement are expected to travel to Detroit on Wednesday and Washington on Thursday to gather more information about a possible U.S. bailout plan for struggling automakers.

Clement has talked about striking a joint Canada-U.S. agreement, but Bryant says Canada should move to help automakers before the Americans do.

The timing of any aid to automakers could be crucial, as concerns grow that one of the Big Three -- General Motors, Ford and Chrysler -- may go under if help doesn't arrive before president-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

Congress was grappling Tuesday with a proposal to provide an additional US$25 billion to help automakers, but its fate remains uncertain.

Bryant has argued Canada could play a "pivotal role" in rescuing an automaker if the Americans don't provide emergency aid before Jan. 20.

If Canada moves to help automakers before the Americans do, it would put the country in a better position to negotiate the terms, such as making sure that jobs stay in Ontario, he said Monday.

There are lingering concerns that Canadian auto jobs could be in jeopardy if Obama takes a more protectionist stance than his Republican predecessor.

Premier Dalton McGuinty said last week he's worried that Obama will force the Detroit Three automakers to repatriate jobs by pulling production out of Canada and Mexico in return for financial aid.

McGuinty refused to revisit that question Tuesday, but voiced his preference for a joint Canada-U.S. agreement to aid the auto industry.

He also said that Honda and Toyota support government efforts to help their troubled competitors.

Both Japanese-based automakers are worried about so-called "supplier shock," he said.

They fear that companies who supply parts to the Detroit Three would not be able to survive for long if one of the big automakers failed, McGuinty said.

"So there is strength and security to be found ... in the auto constellation that exists right now."

McGuinty said the trip to Detroit and Washington was not discussed in a Tuesday conference call with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but that the two levels of government are "working closely" on the auto file.

"We're going to do what we can to get a better understanding of where they want to go in Washington," he said.

"It's tough to know. There are shifting grounds there. We're trying to find out .. what the likelihood is that there is going to be some action taken before the 20th of January."

Another fact-finding mission is not what Canada or automakers need right now, said federal Liberal critic Gerard Kennedy, who dismissed the trip as merely symbolic.

"There's lots of room and time to protect Canada's interests, but the government of Canada has to decide -- is it playing or is it not?" he said.

"Wandering around Washington or Detroit without a point of view is not going to be that constructive."