Pratt & Witney Should Repay What They Owe

By Kevin GaudetDecember 13, 2010

Minister Clement should demand Pratt & Witney repay taxpayers

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Taxpayers already owed $1.8 billion
CTF opposes latest handout of $300 million

TORONTO: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today expressed its opposition to the latest federal government handout to Pratt & Witney Canada Corporation of another $300 million. CTF federal director Kevin Gaudet, attacked the subsidy saying, “Industry Minister Clement is playing Santa to Pratt & Witney at great taxpayer expense. Before today’s $300 million announcement, the company had already soaked taxpayers for $2.158 billion, the vast majority of which has not been paid back.”

The CTF released federal Access to Information details of 43 years of Pratt & Witney subsidies. The 79 subsidies began in 1967 and total in excess of $2.158 billion. To see the subsidy list click HERE. The latest Industry Canada repayment report shows Pratt and Whitney repayments of a mere $124 million against $1.041 billion of conditionally repayable contributions. The CTF questions Industry Canada’s support totals for Pratt and Whitney which are nearly $1-billion less than documents released to the CTF under Access to Information. “It may not be clear what Pratt & Whitney has paid back, but it is abundantly clear we should not be doling out more money to them,” said Gaudet. It was four years ago today that P & W received its last government handout of $350 million. To see the announcement click HERE. “This federal government is going into debt at the rate of $124-million a day, it’s high time they got their priorities straight,” Gaudet added. “Playing banker with taxpayers’ wallets is not one of them.”

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Kevin Gaudet——Bio and Archives

Kevin Gaudet, is former the Federal Director, Canadian Taxpayers Federation