Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Transportation and the Prime Minister will attend the opening of a new power plant in British Columbia. They think that because this government has provided $30 million to this plant it will deflect some of the criticism they have received for giving $87 million to Bombardier while refusing to provide support to Canadian Airlines.
There has been a total of $117 million in giveaways. No wonder Canadian Airlines employees feel there is a double standard.
If Canadian Airlines fails, it will cost the taxpayers almost $1 billion. It appears that the Liberal government would rather see Canadian fail than reduce some of the taxes that are bleeding the company dry.
The solution to saving Canadian Airlines and thousands of other businesses is simple: bring government spending under control, balance the budget, reduce taxes, and let companies remain profitable so their workers can keep their jobs.