The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, or so the saying goes. It would appear that’s exactly what’s happening in the ongoing debate about whether Atlantic Canada receives more or less federal subsidies than other parts of Canada. Following the Money Trail II sets the record straight.
Five years ago AIMS caused a furore with the release of the first Following the Money Trail. It debunked the myth that Atlantic Canada receives less in federal subsidies than other regions of the country.
The debate is once again rearing its head, this time prompted by two things. On the one hand was another report published purporting to show that Atlantic Canada did not get its “share” of subsidies and that therefore Atlantic Canadian business was under-subsidized compared to the rest of the country. On the other hand was the policy of the new Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who says he will ask the Auditor General to examine the record of federal regional development agencies and make recommendations about how regional development budgets might be better spent.
In Following the Money Trail II, AIMS sets the record straight about the real scope of subsidization of the region’s private sector. It shows that Atlantic Canadian businesses remain among the most heavily subsidized in the country.
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