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Bombardier and its lackeys, the Canadian and Quebec governments, had a lousy week. They have only themselves to blame.

The Quebec-based manufacturer recently received more than $1 billion in public money courtesy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Philippe Couillard. The company’s C Series passenger jets are reportedly fine machines, but their development process was so tumultuous that the company’s fiscal health eroded during the repeated delays, inspiring politicians to line up with their chequebooks. Seemingly lost on Mssrs. Trudeau and Couillard is the irony that they bailed out a company that would shortly thereafter lay-off thousands of workers while handing major bonuses to executives. Way to support the middle class, gentlemen.

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That was one cautionary tale, as if any more were needed, about why government should avoid corporate welfare. Politicians will tell you it’s impossible, of course. Every last dollar of corporate welfare in Canada is an investment, they say. Not a single dollar of it is an unnecessary gesture of political goodwill to a well-connected corporate titan or voters in a favoured electoral riding, a way of gussying up a simple bribe as a vital aspect of public policy.