Meet the new corporate welfare, same as the old corporate welfare
Sigh.
Aerospace industry to get $900M boost: The Tories are set to announce a $900-million aid package for Canada's aerospace industry, with most of the money going to businesses in the politically key province of Quebec.Predicted reaction in comments: "But just wait until we get a majority ... baby steps, people ... changing a culture takes time ... checkers/chess ... etc."
4/02/2007
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Why the sigh, Andrew? As you well know, Ontario gets cars, Quebec gets aerospace, the East gets EI, and the West gets screwed -- that's the grand bargain of Confederation.
Besides, Jean Charest is The Most Federalist Quebec Premier in Stephen Harper's Lifetime -- surely we need to do all we can to support him. He's done so much for Canada since winning office.
Yep - it sucks. More of the same from the usual suspects, yadda yadda.
Meantime, I wait with bated breath for any national columnist in this country who knows how any federal party can win a majority without dumping tons of money into the two provinces with the most seats in the House of Commons.
Anyone know how Harper can do that?
Do we even know what "they" mean by "aerospace"? Is this another Bombardier bailout? One of the "space tourism" outfits (which requires more R&D than an existing and profitable airplane manufacturer)? And why Qc, and not the outfits operating out of (London) Ontario?
Is this just trying to "level the playing field" against some support supposedly given to Embraer?
And why is it so important that I subsidize their product development, while I'm still struggling to pay for my own? Announcements like this one are very disappointing to me.
Anyone know how Harper can do that?
Well, I know this is a crazy idea, but maybe he could do a good job. You know: have a great vision for Canada and strong supporting policies; enact the policies working towards that vision. That sort of thing.
Might this work? An example: the decision on income trusts was a good policy decision, and the Conservatives, overall, were praised for taking the action.
To date, the only vision proposed by the Conservatives is "majority Conservative government", and their great supporting policies have been "out-spend the Liberals". Not very impressive.
Hey, Ontario has an aerospace industry too. Do you think it will get its proportional share?
Sounds like they're trying to buy Fortier his seat. Even with the rise of the ADQ, and what that means for Harper's Conservatives federally in that province, Fortier still has a tough fight on his hands.
So combined with the Pratt and Whitney support earlier this year, the industrial offsets for the C-17s, Chinooks, and Hercules (at 60% value) what is the support for Quebec's aerospace industry at again? In my guesstimation, it would be close to three billion dollars
(but that should be low balling since on 10 billion of aeroscpae purchases the offset should be higher than be 1.5 billion to Quebec for its 60% share )
I wonder if you look at it if the liberals did that much from 1993-2006?
or maybe some pork for BC . . the last sentence smells sausage to me . . .
Viking restarts Twin Otter production
By Kate Sarsfield
The heritage de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter is making a comeback after two decades, following a decision by Canada’s Viking Air, which owns the type certificates for seven de Havilland heritage aircraft, to restart production.
“Our decision to restart production of the Twin Otter is based on three elements”, says David Curtis, president and chief executive of Viking Air. Having a large enough order book, board and shareholder approval and finally securing research and development (R&D) funding from the Canadian government. “We have two out of three so far and we are confident the federal government will approve the R&D funding the next 30 days,” says Curtis.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/04/02/212989/viking-restarts-twin-otter-production.html
I await the details but yes on the surface this disappoints me and at the same time I agree with Sean....how do you get a majority in this country without this...
The bombardier one drives me the craziest because they pay out dividends so governemnt money is effectively going straight to a dividend....
I look forward to the details
Where is M Bernier in all of this? WOnder if he can be cornered for a quote.
The only forgivable thing on this is R and D....and then it depends on the R and D and the conditions....
Industrial policy is a very odd thing....Governments can play a role as lead buyer and by being a good buyer (driving suppliers to "world class status" in specs and or processes) but it is few and far between...
Kyle, i suspect this is a little pork largesse because the 60% provision was stripped out of the latest boeing contract for the C17 and Chinooks because it threatened to slow down the procurement. To Sean's point about buying a majority i would like to see Harper try a grand reversal of all this. tell Ontario voters he's not giving this pork to Que and Que voters he's not giving any to Ontario either, then cut everyone's taxes
Andrew! Andrew! You still don't get it! You're playing checkers, and Harper's playing chess!
Happy to oblige, pw
(Ignoring Wells...)
I like Matt's suggestion a lot. It's the Reverse Double Tribal Whipsaw! You pitch the removalof all subsidies in the same regional sum-keeping terms with which they are generally introduced: as Matt says, in Quebec, it's a screw-Ontario policy, while in Ontario it's screw-Quebec. It's, it's ... negative pork!
Negative pork? Would that be like transferring billions of dollars to the provinces so that they can reduce taxes (that is, if there isn't a "fiscal imbalance"), or apply it to offset tax increases and reduce excessive taxes (if there were)?
[The alternative, for the feds to decrease taxes and all of the provinces to raise their own taxes by an equal amount seems to be the preferred choice. Good luck to anyone trying to convince any voter that the feds decreased their taxes under that scenario.]
Oh oh.....Maxime did the announcing.....
Is nothing sacred, does the ottawa river leave nobody defiled and dirty?
Wow I wish for the good ole days of straight shooter PM's and no pork
Paul Martin...oops I meant
Jean Jean Chretien....oh sorry I meant
Kim Campbell...well she wasnt there very long so I meant
Brian Mul...oh never mind, I meant
John Turner....kind of short there, no pork just bum patties
How about Joe Clark....maybe, but too short as well
How about Pierre Tru....just as bad as that Mul guy
shoot this goes all the way back to Sir John A.....
That doesnt make it right....it just makes it....
But yes it should be roundly crticized no matter who does it....in the hopes that someone has some shame somewhere...
Franco:
Stephen Harper (or any Prime Minister for that matter) could be ordained by God as the messiah, walk on water, turn water into wine, bring sight to the blind, etc, and it still doesn't change the fact that in order to win a majority in this country, ya have to buy off Quebec and Ontario, that's just the way it works. I don't like it any more than you do, but "to do a good job" is a hopelessly naive assertion. Moreover, the mainstream media has no interest in covering a Prime Minister who does a good job - that doesn't sell papers or get people watching Peter Mansbridge at night. Corruption, division, graft, scandal and pork barrelling are the only things that grab people's attention.
So, with this in mind -- can anyone tell me how any party, Conservative , Liberal or freakin' Natural Law Party can hope to win an election without buying off Quebec and Ontario?
Zoiks!~
Time for a rebirth of the reform party.
Sean Cummings: Harper had 36% of the vote in the last relection before he started buying off Quebec and Ontario. Is it really so difficult to imagine winning 4% more with a different approach? Frankly, he has been compromising conservative principles with barrels of pork for a measly 4% of the vote, and it is unclear whether he has truly reached the magic 40% mark, it might have been a complete waste of time.
There is no natural way that says you need to behave like a socialist to win a majority.
It is an investissement. Not new corporate welfare.
Let's not forget that the USA gouvernment finance Boeing and all the others directly and indirectly with NASA (18 billions$)and the defence budget (1000000 trillions).
hey Andrew you remember the baby steps comment from me? that's great!
lalalalalalalalalalalala
(i have a name now as opposed to just being another anonymous - also i'm posting from university right now)
but yes, this subsidy is bad, for what it's worth.
separatiste - that's funny, "investment" is what Gordon Brown calls government spending - I know Harper likes lifting ideas from Australia and obviously from the UK now as well!
As I understand it P&WC and BBD have had lots of "investments" in the past - with very little direct repayment. On the other hand Toyota and Honda (in particular the latter) are going great guns here in Ontario without the pork McGuinty shovels into Magna, GM, Ford etc.
Remind me again why the Western alienation movement formed? I thought it had something to do with anger over the bribing of Quebec. And now the great Western liberation party is doing it more than the Liberals to gain power. In any event, the biggest receiver of subsidies in this country is actually the Alberta oil and gas industry, bar none.