After weeks of stonewalling, the federal Liberals have revealed the amount of the subsidy they promised Volkswagen to build an EV battery 'gigafactory' in St. Thomas, Ontario: $13 billion, the largest single corporate welfare payout since the building of the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
Billions in secret subsidies for Volkswagen | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn:
Mar 31, 2023 - "Volkswagen received secret subsidies approved by the Department of Industry for a battery plant in Ontario.... According to Blacklock’s Reporter, terms of federal concessions were not disclosed....
"'All Canadians are 'celebrating the fact Volkswagen chose St. Thomas,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on March 22. 'What it says to me, to the whole world, is Canada can win and as Canadians, we can win big at a time where obviously there is a lot of competition for these investments,' Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne told reporters on March 21. 'When are we going to found out how much we had to give?' a reporter asked. 'We are going to do that in due course,' replied Champagne."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/business/billions-in-secret-subsidies-for-volkswagen/article_675236bc-cfdf-11ed-aa5a-73486cd50480.html
BEETLE MANIA: Liberals won’t disclose secret Volkswagen subsidies, worth up to $15 billion | Western Standard - Christopher Oldcorn:
April 19, 2023 - "The Commons Industry committee requested Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne provide information regarding new federal subsidies for Volkswagen, which are believed to be worth up to $15 billion.... 'Two things: number of jobs, amount of money,' said Conservative MP Brad Vis (Mission-Matsqui, BC). 'I am not asking for anything inappropriate. If the government stands by their investment, they’ll give us the numbers'... The committee on March 30 approved a motion sponsored by Vis that the cabinet surrender terms of the contract to build a subsidized battery plant in St. Thomas, ON. by 2027....
"According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Champagne was to disclose the terms on Monday. He did not. 'The parliamentary secretary promised me he would have it here today,” said Vis. 'He didn’t follow up with an email or anything or say, "Hey, we need a little bit more time. We’re redacting certain information." Not a peep'... The Industry committee voted unanimously that Champagne surrender the contract to MPs and taxpayers by April 24."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/business/beetle-mania-liberals-won-t-disclose-secret-volkswagen-subsidies-worth-up-to-15-billion/article_c48a1222-dea4-11ed-a2e3-fb9dadcd4896.html
VW's $13B is biggest corporate welfare payout in modern Canadian history | National Post - Tristan Hopper:
April 21, 2023 - "After weeks of both the Ontario and federal governments sidestepping questions about how much they paid Volkswagen to open a battery factory in St. Thomas, Ont., the final figure was just obtained by Bloomberg News: The German carmaker will be getting $13 billion in grants and subsidies over the next 10 years. It is, quite simply, the largest single payout of corporate welfare since the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
"The next leading contender would be Bombardier, which received about $4 billion in government subsidies between 1966 and 2017. But the Montreal-based aerospace firm racked up the total through dozens of tax credits, interest-free loans and subsidies spread out over five decades. Volkswagen will not only receive a payout equivalent to as much as triple Bombardier’s lifetime total, but it will receive it in one go....
"In March, the governments of both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Premier Doug Ford offered high praise to Volkswagen’s 'vote of confidence' in choosing to build a 'gigafactory' for EV batteries in St. Thomas, Ont.... Both levels of government refused to confirm at the time whether any public money had incentivized the deal, even though Volkswagen has openly declared its intention to locate the factory wherever it could find the best subsidy offer.... At the time, VW calculated that a battery gigafactory in the United States could easily yield up to US$10 billion in subsidies....
"Bloomberg revealed the $13 billion figure on Thursday, along with a quote by industry minister François-Philippe Champagne saying the sum was necessary to seize 'generational opportunities.' When factoring in the exchange rate, the $13 billion offered by Canada effectively matches the U.S. promise of US$10 billion, which came about through the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act, a package of more than $369 billion in green technology subsidies."
Read more: https://nationalpost.com/opinion/volkswagen-13-billion-biggest-corporate-welfare-payout-in-modern-canadian-history
"Canada offers $13B in subsidies for Volkswagen battery plant," CBC News, April 21, 2023:
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