I played college basketball and have been coaching for decades, so I know a thing or two about defence. Rest assured, Canada’s auto industry and governing politicians are going to be playing defence for a very long time.
When I read $13 billion, I had to read it twice. Then, I tweeted: “For a decade now, I've watched federal and provincial governments give tax dollars to automakers. But I’ve NEVER seen ANY NUMBER this BIG. Wow. Stunned.” And finally: “What’s going to be lost here is the ‘over 10 years’ part of the agreement. People are only going to latch onto the enormous ‘$13 billion’ number. And, for good reason: It’s a stunning figure.”
And then there was a somewhat valid point made by the labour publication Rank and File while the Public Service Alliance of Canada was striking: “Cough up the money, Trudeau! You did for Volkswagen!”One auto executive bluntly told me it was “awful.” It’s true. This isn’t a one-time $13-billion blank cheque. There are stipulations attached, something those against “corporate welfare” have wanted for decades.