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by Mark Milke of the Fraser Institute

You might think the federal Conservatives, who added $125-billion to the federal debt since 2008 and will add another $21-billion by the end of March, might be shy about unnecessary expenditures. Alas, that is not the case, as it appears Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his colleagues would rather hand out cash to corporate Canada instead.

In just the first two weeks of January, the Prime Minister announced another $250-million for the Automotive Innovation Fund -— a federal subsidy program that provides the auto sector with taxpayer cash for research and development.

Then the Prime Minister announced $400-million for venture capital, mystifying those of us who thought it was fine to let private-sector angel investors risk their own cash, not that of taxpayers, on high-risk start-ups.

The recent taxpayer gifts are but the tip of the corporate welfare iceberg. Between 1994 and 2007, $202-billion was disbursed by all governments across Canada through subsidies to business.

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