According to CP Wire reports, last week Nova Scotia Premier John Hamm asked a 500-plus business person audience if they really need government subsidies and assistance. Mr. Hamm's Tories campaigned last June against business subsidies as a way of helping to clean up Nova Scotia's fiscal mess, which next to British Columbia, has to be the worst in the country on a per capita basis.

But Premier Hamm is facing opposition to gutting "corporate welfare" from within his own Cabinet. Wire stories also report that the Economic Development minister, Gordon Balser, is not keen on having his annual $60.2-million budget cut.

In an effort to downsize government, reduce Nova Scotia's $457 million deficit and lay the groundwork for a 10% across-the-board income tax cut later in their mandate, the Tories have cut funds to "charities, the disabled and a winter works program while maintaining incentives for big business, such as a $2-million deal with Scotiabank for call-centre jobs."

Let's get this straight, wheelchair ramps are out but cash to a big bank is in From an Atlantic perspective, it's actually quite simple. Each Atlantic province has a long history of being in bed with business and add to this the insidious activities of the federally funded Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) in the economy and you can see why several Atlantic businesses and politicians alike are hooked on corporate welfare.

This may also explain why Mr. Balser said "he wants to take any savings from the program review in his department and redirect them to promising business incentives." It's a way of life in Atlantic politics. Time magazine might as well have been thinking about Nova Scotia politics when it noted last year that corporate welfare turns politicians into bribery specialists and good business people into con artists.

Hopefully the Tories will keep their word but the early indications are not promising. The Premier now stresses that he campaigned against "senseless business incentive programs." Apparently he will consider handouts that "make sense" and require companies to meet specific performance standards in return for the cash.

Memo to Premier Hamm: Business subsidy programs never make sense! Governments shouldn't play venture capitalist with taxpayer dollars. We've amassed volumes of research to prove our point and would be more than willing to share it with you, just give us a call.

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Make sure your VCR is set to Global TV on Monday November 22nd at 10pm EST. (For other time zones, please check your local listings.)

An excellent documentary, entitled "Canada's Brain Drain" is scheduled to air. It is a compelling look at one of the most debated issues in public policy today. The stories of five outstanding young Canadians who were lured to the United States are told from third- and first-person perspectives.

Having seen a preview tape, you can be assured that this is a riveting look at a "real" problem. So the first person to tune in should be our Prime Minister since he's still under the delusion that the brain drain is a myth. Maybe the story of a young Quebec doctor practicing world-class medicine in Texas will force him to take off his rose-coloured glasses.

And the PM shouldn't worry about missing any other shows. The NFL Monday night contest doesn't look that good and Party of Five has been knocked out of its regular spot on Global to make room for this "must-see" television event. It would be nice if "anti tax-cut" members of the Finance Committee could tune in as well; they might learn something to guide them in their pre-budget deliberations.