As usual, the suddenly un-inquisitive liberal media fails to ask the relevant questions, or raise the possibilities —selectively.
The same media that has no problem wondering at every possible opportunity —even when it’s entirely inappropriate —whether the Conservative Party has a “Hidden Agenda”, or whether the Party is run by a bunch of wacked-out extremist right-wing Christian freaks and Neanderthals, and which the media routinely refer to as “petulant” and “muzzled” and “hiding under a rock”, has no problem skipping over relevant questions and failing to raise distinct possibilities when it comes to liberals.
Was the information in this story exemplary of an effort by liberal-left governments to charter companies to “work with” the Liberal government (—wink!)? An effort to add companies and their owners to the individual citizen sector of the Canadian population which is already or which they hope will become totally hooked on—reliant—upon the state, rather than (in the case of companies) on their own innovation, effort, salesmanship, ingenuity, skills, and drive to win? The very definition of corporate welfare? The very definition of liberals run amok with taxpayer cash? Another example of using your tax dollars to buy votes for them? Attempting to get the corporate sector under the thumb of the liberal-left?
Yes, it’s all these things and more. Please forgive the liberal media for running out of typewriter ribbon at selective times and for selected stories, and thereby failing to raise these issues and for selectively reporting only the bare minimum facts rather than elaborating and getting seven expert opinions and editorializing as they do with stories about conservatives.
In this story, it’s bad enough that they neglect to mention that the former Liberal government succumbed to pressure to call for an audit, but they also only passively mention that the audit turned up exactly what the then-opposition conservative-minded folks had warned of and predicted (and God knows they won’t mention them by name, i.e., “Conservatives”!). That’s a non-issue in this story. And the underlying story— what I consider to be the liberal-left’s conspiratorial corporate welfare program —is very nearly sidelined as immaterial as well.
Firms violated federal loan rules
Paul Vieira, CanWest News Service; Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, July 11, 2006OTTAWA – A government-commissioned audit released Monday indicates more than a third of the companies granted loans by the much-maligned Technology Partnerships Canada scheme violated the terms of the financing.
Sixteen of the 46 companies examined were found to have paid lobbyists a total of $3.3 million in fees, the auditors said. Loan recipients are forbidden from paying lobbyists in exchange for help to secure TPC financing.
The payments ranged from $100,000 to $900,000. The audit said this did not include any non-cash rewards, such as stock options, that may have been issued.
The identities of the loan violators were not revealed because of privacy legislation. Also, the auditors noted one TPC loan recipient did not provide timely access to company books and records, and therefore they could not determine whether the company was in compliance with TPC conditions.
‘‘The rate of non-compliance is high and in our professional judgment, we believe that it is reasonable to assume that it is likely that other recipient companies who were not covered by the audit are non-compliant,’’ said the audit, conducted by Montreal-based Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton.
The former Liberal government commissioned the audit in August 2004. The 47 companies selected for examination represented roughly a quarter of the TPC portfolio. Nevertheless, the auditors believe evidence gathered to date suggest loan violations are widespread throughout TPC.
[…] Since its inception in 1996, the TPC earned a reputation for secrecy, breaking promises and a lack of transparency. In theory, companies that received TPC money were supposed to repay their loans via royalties. But the government has collected only $156 million back of the $2.15 billion in funds disbursed.
[That’s SEVEN PERCENT]
Government policy dictates that a person cannot be paid a reward, such as a commission, for successfully closing a business transaction with the government. This is in an effort to discourage kickbacks or bribes.
A crackdown on lobbyists is a major element of the Conservative government’s Federal Accountability Act. The law, passed last month, would, among other things, prohibit politicians and political advisers from lobbying government after leaving office and give Ottawa stronger powers to investigate alleged improper lobbyist activity.
The audit results confirmed the worst fears of critics of corporate subsidy programs, such as TPC.
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
Contact Mr. Johannesen about this article using this form. Please refer to article's title.
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