For the past three decades, Saskatchewan politicians have been using various government agencies and departments to hand out hundreds of millions of tax dollars to businesses in the form of grants, loans, loan guarantees or even direct equity ownership. The politicians call it "economic development" or a "job creation initiative", but it is really nothing more than taxpayer-funded corporate welfare.

In the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, one of the main sources of government largesse for the corporate sector was from the Saskatchewan Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO). In 1994, thanks to pressure from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, the government finally shut down SEDCO, but not before taxpayers suffered $47 million in losses during its last year of operations alone along with a $300 million mountain of accumulated debt.

Unfortunately, you can't keep a good scam down. At the same news conference to announce SEDCO's closure, the government proclaimed it had formed a new agency known as the Saskatchewan Opportunities Corporation (SOCO), quickly dubbed "Son of SEDCO".

Since its inception, SOCO has received approximately $17 million in operating grants from provincial coffers and has made over fifty "investments" totaling more than $33 million.

SOCO publishes a list of its investments but uses handy exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act to refuse to disclose the current status of each loan, loan guarantee, or equity stake.

SOCO believes that ignorance is bliss. Taxpayers may lose their shirts on some of these financial arrangements, but we won't know what hit us until it's too late. This is yet another example of the secrecy that shrouds the finances and operations of the Saskatchewan government.

And it's not just SOCO; there exists a vast array of programs and capital funds available through a number of government departments and agencies specifically geared toward "business development".

You may ask: what's wrong with government providing direct financial assistance to business First of all, politicians and bureaucrats are notoriously bad at making business decisions. We often see the disastrous end result of our government's interventionist habit after the fact. The downfall of SaskWater's grandiose plans for the potato industry is simply the latest in a long line of failed business experiments by our provincial government.

Secondly, it's inherently unfair. Business hand-outs create an uneven playing field, as grants, loans and investment are directed to certain companies but not others. Often the result is charges and counter-charges of political patronage.

Third, these subsidies can cause business to become dependent upon the goodwill of the government for their very survival. Pull out the financial crutch, and the business falls.

And last, but not least, corporate welfare inevitably means higher taxes. Until our politicians get their priorities right and stop government grants, loans and other subsidies to businesses, meaningful tax relief will remain a mirage.