Angry in the Great White North

David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry

Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Walt Lastewka, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines

Jim Bradley, Member of Provincial Parliament for St. Catharines

From March of 2005, the federal and provincial Liberal governments brag about how our tax money goes into more corporate welfare:

General Motors Canada today announced that it is investing C$23 million in a new 5.3 litre V8 "Displacement on Demand" (DoD) engine to be manufactured at its Powertrain operation in St. Catharines, Ontario. The investment is part of a significant investment partnership agreement reached between GM, and the Ontario and Canadian Governments.

"GM's St. Catharines Powertrain facility is a valued part of our local economy," said the Honourable Walt Lastewka, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services. Mr. Lastewka added, "This investment demonstrates GM's ongoing commitment to the facility and our community."

Ontario Minister of Tourism and Recreation and Member of Provincial Parliament for St. Catharines, the Honourable Jim Bradley said, "The Ontario Government commends GM of Canada for this important investment that will secure good jobs in St. Catharines."

"CAW members at General Motors have earned this new investment by continually meeting demands for high quality and productivity. The Beacon Project is not only good news for the Canadian auto industry, but also great news for our members, their families and their communities," said CAW president Buzz Hargrove.

"The provincial and federal governments' financial support for GM's Beacon Project shows that our political leaders understand the importance of maintaining a strong, viable, modern and sustainable auto industry in Canada," added Hargrove.

The Beacon Project was a huge deal for the federal Liberals:

The Honourable Joe Volpe, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, on behalf of the Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry, today announced that the Government of Canada is making a contribution of $200 million toward the innovative Beacon Project being undertaken by General Motors of Canada (GM Canada).

"Today's investment will help Canada remain at the forefront of the automotive sector, and secures the future of the site and related employment for years to come," said Minister Volpe. "I am pleased that both levels of government and the private sector continue to work together to invest in the future of a well-trained, highly skilled workforce. This investment represents the second investment made to fulfill a commitment announced last June."

No official word from either level of government on today's announcement of layoffs, a mere eight months later:

General Motors Corp. plans to close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain plants - including two in Canada - and cut 30,000 jobs over three years, the world's biggest automaker announced Monday.

In St. Catharines, the Ontario Street West powertrain components facility will cease production in 2008.

So millions of taxpayer dollars thrown into a hole, people still losing their jobs, and no more taxpayer dollars in unemployment benefits and other "safety net" programs.

Part of the activist government model we're saddled with.

Needless to say, there is no mention of Volpe, Emerson, Lastewka, or Bradley being anywhere near the announcement of layoffs.

Fairweather friends, they are.

Update: Darn, it looks like there are two plant involved, thanks to reader Robert Phillips:

1) Ontario Street - old, poorly maintained, and scheduled to be shut down.

2) Glendale Ave - the new, updated plant which received the investment from the government. This one is not on the chopping block (yet).

That sort of kills my piece, but then not entirely.

I still think it's shameful that politicians never seem to be around when these layoffs are announced. And for what it's worth, lower taxes would have positively affected the Ontario Street plant as well as the Glendale Avenue plant. Would it have made a difference? Perhaps the Ontario Street plant would not have been in such poor shape if the company had more money to spend on maintenance.

But then maybe the plant is long past the end of its useful life. Funny thing is, government handouts can have the effect of sustaining an operation longer than justified. Either way, government meddling distorts the proper functioning of the market, and represents money that is either better spent on mitigating the effects of layoffs, or better yet, left in the pockets of corporate and individual taxpayers.