Canadian Tax Dollar Give-Away
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CDM Editorial
July 20 2004
Vancouver – The provincial government of British Columbia has decided to build three new super class ferries to service the people of British Columbia. The ferries are badly needed, as the existing ferry fleet is old, tired and overworked. The previous ship building for BC Ferries as conducted by the NDP government resulted in the Fast Cats which were unable to ply the local waters, and were subsequently taken out of service.
There is one notable exception between the two ship building efforts though, as the new ships will be built overseas without even being offered to Canadian based companies.
BC NDP leader Carole James said of the move, “Gordon Campbell has shielded BC Ferries from public accountability by exempting the Corporation from the most basic laws protecting taxpayers, like Freedom of Information. As a result, BC Ferries is moving jobs and economic opportunities overseas with no explanation or public rationale.â€
BC ship builders and the people of BC are not being afforded the opportunity to profit from the construction of the new ships. BC based, and all Canadian based companies are being denied the opportunity to bid on the multi-million dollar contract. All the economic benefits that would arise from the building of the ships here are being thrown to the wind, as we allow foreign companies to do what Canadians are more than willing and capable of doing. The taxpayers of British Columbia who worked so hard for that tax money to begin with will not gain anything from shipping all that money overseas never to be seen again.
Beyond the money being thrown away, the technological know-how that the Canadian companies would have gained is also lost. By building those new ships here, Canadian companies would be able to showcase their work, thus putting them in a better position to bid on other contracts in the future. Our foreign competitors though are being given a leg up as we fund them with our tax dollars, and boost their opportunity to expand upon their market share and technological ability at Canada’s expense.
It is not only BC of course that is giving away tax dollars; it is a tragic symptom inherent in all provinces and regions of Canada. In the world of globalization, and to its backers, it seems there is no job too good for foreign companies and none quite good enough for Canadians.
When public money is spent on infrastructure and services to serve the public, every effort should be made to ensure that Canadian companies are given every prospect to bid on and conduct any contract. In fact, it should be national policy to spend Canadian taxpayers money at home every time possible. We should place the welfare of Canadians as priority number one and that includes keeping tax dollars at home so we may all benefit.
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@ July 20, 2004