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WTF?

Why on earth is the Canadian government providing subsidies to oil companies? Jack Layton yesterday demanded that these, which he estimates to be about $1.5 billion, be removed from the budget. Surely, if there is one industry that can get pulled from the government teat it is oil and gas! Harper, for his part, said that they weren't planning any more subsidies for oil companies. I should think not.

Let's put that money either back in my pocket, into a useful program like childcare or health, or into the debt so we can get rid of those interest payments. I' prefer the programs, but anything is better than pissing it away into the pockets of the oil industry in times of record profits.

Anything, just make it useful, please!

Yeah funny eh? so much for true fiscal conservatism - this is about rewarding your corporate buddies.

Andrew at BBG has a post up about an arts program and you should see how the Cons are jumping on this as a waste of money wanting to "burn it to the ground and throw salt on the soil". It costs an order of magnitude less than the oil and gas subsidies and that cost is amortized over 5 years. Reaction form the Cons when I brought up oil and gas..."yeah but oil and gas produces tax revenue..."

Bloddy hypocrites.

(To be fair, Andrew of BBG agree that oil and gas subsidies should be cut too - at least he is true to his fiscal conservative ideals)

Yeah, this is a big thing. Cut the damn funding now!

Agreed, and while you are at it, no new subsidies to the Auto Industry and Bombardier.

I don't know much about Bombardier, but I believe that a fair chunk of the auto industry may actually *need* the help right now. Whether we should give it or not is another matter, but my argument is that the oil industry absolutely does not need the "help".

Sadly, Oil and Gas companies get huge subsidies. Encana recieved 170 Million to keep rigs running through last April (During breakup.) So, the companies just held off on all the work that they could still do in April, and wee...

Also, they don't pay PST or GST


It's disgusting. It's all well known (and despised) in the oil patch.

It should all be cut, hell, it should all be clawed back, then they should have a windfall tax applied to them.

Of course, from the Harper government, we can only expect the same old brown nosing.

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