|
| Alta. farm group angry over Feds' Bombardier... - Sunday, July 27, 2003 at 23:42 |
|
Alta. farm group angry over Feds' Bombardier assistance Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew announced more than one billion dollars in loan assistance to companies buying Canadian-made aircraft. (CP) "If they can do this for the high tech industry side, and provide support, they should be able to provide support, really, for the consumers of Canada," Rod Scarlett, president of the Wild Rose Agricultural Producers, said Thursday. On Thursday, Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew announced more than one billion dollars in loan assistance to companies buying Canadian-made aircraft. He insisted the money was not a bailout for Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. The aerospace manufacturer has been battered by the economic downturn. Cattle producers have received $190 million in federal aid due to the collapse of international beef and live cattle markets after a single case of mad cow disease was found on May 20. "It will make all farmers angry that that amount of money can become available while at the same time the industry has experienced a loss of $750 million thus far and we all know it's going to be way more than that," Scarlett said. Sales of cattle and calves brought in $7.6 billion last year, more than half from shipments outside the country. Then there is money from beef sales, semen and embryo sales as well. Scarlett said the crisis in the cattle industry affects far more people and has greater ramifications than the aerospace industry. He suggested the government wants to protect high tech, high paying jobs more than low end, low paying jobs in the cattle industry. "On the other hand it does provide a little leverage to go back to the government and say, 'you can't do this for one industry and ignore another.' " The cattle industry has been losing about $11 million a day in export sales and another $7 million a day due to depressed beef prices since the mad cow scare began.
|