-- CTF Blasts Inconsistencies in Response to Corporate Welfare Study, Challenges Department to Produce Repayment Schedules and Records --
OTTAWA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) seriously questions the claims made by departmental officials and aerospace industry representatives as they scramble to repair the damage done after the release last Thursday of a landmark CTF study
entitled Corporate Welfare: A Report on Sixteen Years of Industry Canada Financial Assistance.
"The only distortions that are being put forward are those by Technology Partnerships Canada executive director Bruce Deacon and aerospace industry representatives," stated CTF Federal Director, Walter Robinson. "At least these guys could get their spin straight before going on the record and contradicting each other six ways 'til Sunday."
The CTF offers the following distortions as examples of a "panic mode" that now plagues the spin-doctors.
- Return on TPC investments. Mr. Deacon claims (Ottawa Citizen, April 17) that Industry Canada expects to receive $1.75 for every in return for every dollar it pours into TPC funding. But this is up dramatically from the $1.12 anticipated return figure alluded to in the first Annual Report of TPC. As Robinson noted "if this figure skyrockets much more, Warren Buffet and all of Wall Street will want a piece of the action. Clearly, these new figures are being pulled out of thin air."
- Timing of Defence Industry Productivity Program (DIPP) Repayments. Peter Smith, President of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) claims that all DIPP repayments (CTV Canada AM, April 17) will be made by the year 2005. Yet Mr. Deacon claims that loan repayments won't be wound up until 2025 (Ottawa Citizen, April 17). "This is ridiculous, it's like a multiple choice question and nobody has the right answer, and it's taxpayers who end up failing the test," said Robinson.
The CTF study pointed out that only 15% of all loans made through 28 different programs over the past 15 years have been repaid. The study also pointed out that less than 8% of all DIPP loans (repayable and conditionally repayable) have been repaid over this same period. Meanwhile, Industry Canada still maintains that it expects to receive $2.25 billion back by the year 2025 of the $3.2 billion it has lent out.
"These evasive and contradictory answers don't wash with taxpayers," added Robinson. "We challenge the Minister to immediately release a schedule (company by company, project by project) of forecast loan repayments and provide Canadian taxpayers with past forecasts and actual repayment records against those forecasts. We are confident that the results would be shocking and support our calls for an end to Corporate Welfare."
The CTF will release the following information from its study later this week:
- Provincial breakdowns of the 32,000 authorizations which total over $11 billion.
- A "lunacy list" highlighting some of Industry Canada's "stellar ( )" authorizations.