I had an interesting discussion with a couple of Tory friends before the last Federal election and they were adamant that Harper and crew would be putting an end to corporate welfare.
I chuckled then and I chuckle now.
They dress it up as ‘innovation’ or ‘R&D support’ or (as in the Alberta case) ‘tax breaks to stimulate investment’.
But no matter how you wordsmith it, the results are the same. Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. is going to get a pile of more dough (or contracts or whatever) to put jobs in Montreal and Toronto.
This after these same Tories strongly criticized Pratt & Whitney for being the largest recipient of the reviled Technology Partnerships Canada fund under the Liberals.
I could be wrong about this.
They could be announcing that Pratt has agreed to pay back their TPC contribution.
Maybe…
Then somewhere some National Post columnist will complain about a ten buck deal in Atlantic Canada and how it’s immoral to use taxpayer dollars to try and stimulate economic growth in this region.
And some sense of normalcy pervades the landscape once again….