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MONEY FOR NOTHING AND YOUR CHEQUES FOR FREE<br />
P O L I C Y S E R I E S<br />
• Medicine Hat Inn in Medicine Hat,<br />
Alberta w<strong>as</strong> authorized to receive<br />
$44,130 (one offer);<br />
• O.K. Tire Store in Quesnel, B.C.<br />
w<strong>as</strong> authorized to receive $60,000<br />
(one offer);<br />
As with larger businesses, the problem<br />
with such authorizations is that other<br />
enterprises exist with similar product lines<br />
and services: tire sales, hotel rooms and<br />
ice cream are just a few of the various<br />
possibilities among the 21,766 recipients.<br />
The loan or grant or contribution to said<br />
businesses can only artificially incre<strong>as</strong>e the<br />
advantage of one business over another.<br />
It is another example of the Department<br />
of Industry picking winners and losers at<br />
the most b<strong>as</strong>ic level of business: small<br />
business, where survival rates are already<br />
low.<br />
“<br />
”<br />
The loan... to said<br />
businesses can only<br />
artificially incre<strong>as</strong>e<br />
the advantage of one<br />
business over another...<br />
Who refuses<br />
to rele<strong>as</strong>e<br />
repayment<br />
records to<br />
the public?<br />
A look at just one Industry<br />
Canada program: Technology<br />
Partnerships Canada and its<br />
list of repayment records<br />
Some companies have consented to<br />
Industry Canada’s request to rele<strong>as</strong>e their<br />
repayment records to the public and some<br />
have not. Below is a public list on Industry<br />
Canada’s website <strong>as</strong> of the March 2010,<br />
but only <strong>for</strong> Technology Partnerships<br />
Canada—not all Industry Canada subsidy<br />
programs. The following symbols are<br />
explained <strong>as</strong> follows according to Industry<br />
Canada’s website:<br />
• An “A” indicates that repayments are not<br />
yet due on the company’s project(s).<br />
• A “B” indicates that the company h<strong>as</strong><br />
not provided Industry Canada’s Industrial<br />
Technologies Office with an authorization<br />
to disclose repayment in<strong>for</strong>mation.<br />
Repayment details are protected under<br />
TPC (Technology Partnerships Canada)<br />
agreements signed prior to August 2006.<br />
• An “*” Indicates that a company h<strong>as</strong><br />
multiple TPC projects—some may still be<br />
in the R&D ph<strong>as</strong>e with no repayments<br />
owing.<br />
14<br />
FCPP POLICY SERIES NO. 88 • APRIL 2010<br />
© 2010<br />
FRONTIER CENTRE