Mary Soderstrom's Blog, page 93

Corporate Welfare Bums, Not Jobs: $75 Billion in the Bank, But Where're the Jobs?

The Canadian Labour Congress has just published its report on corporate tax hoarding.
 The conclusion?  Some $75 billion in the bank, but darn few jobs created.  Here's what the report says:

"Corporate income taxes in 2011 amounted to only 8.3% of all government revenues, down from 8.8% in 2010 and an average of 11% in the 1960s and 70s.  In return for tax breaks, companies are supposed to be investing their windfall, but studies have shown that rising corporate after-tax profits are not all invested in increased productivity and the creation of good jobs in Canada."


"Corporate tax giveaways have cost the federal government billions of dollars in foregone revenues, CLC Secretary-Treasurer Hassan  explains. "To pay for its tax breaks, Ottawa has borrowed billions and driven up the national debt. Now, the government has chosen to make massive cuts to public services that are essential to Canadians in order to pay the bill for its tax giveaways.

“Ottawa should target corporate tax credits to companies that actually do invest in machinery and increased productivity in Canada,” Yussuff adds. “The government should also be investing in public infrastructure including transit, literacy, workplace training and child care. These are good ways to prepare for the economy of tomorrow and to stimulate Canada’s economic growth and development.”

And to make it clearer, here's a little play by play of the race to get the most in corporate tax benefits.

Interesting constellation of events: a consulting enginee...

Interesting constellation of events: a consulting engineer reports that he personally offered
The engineer's revelations are the latests in testimony before the Carbonneau commission on corruption in the construction industry in Quebec. The flood occurred on a construction site where 100 year old water pipes are being replaced. 
The need to repair ageing infrastructure has been apparent for years here: the photo was taken a couple of years ago in our neighborhood where sewer pipes, installed when it was developed in the early 20th century, were being replaced. 



So far the Charbonneau commission's investigators haven't dug up anything about that part of the project, but they have about the contractor that was working on the replacement project downtown. 
Democracy requires digilence, if only to keep people honest. 

Am I Getting Closer to the Inca Trail? Exhibit of the Art of Peru at MBAM

Back to work on the non-fiction book, slowly working toward a way of saying what it is about.  Now I'm becoming increasingly convinced I have to go to Brazil, and probably to take a bus across the Andes from Rio Branco to Cuzco...

And then comes this notice that a new exhibit is opening this weekend at the Musée de beaux arts de Montréal about Peruvian art.  Definitely must go see it, since the art is intimately linked with the Inca trail.

Saturday Photo: Orange Rules

For the NDP wine and cheese on Thursday we used bowls of clementines for table decorations.  They looked quite nice, and had the advantage of being both cheaper than flowers, and perfect for a party that has been riding an "orange wave."

The only problem was that not many of the clementines were eaten--after all, people were there to drink wine and eat chees and fruit took a back seat. I ended up buying what remained of the three boxes and now we have a lovely surfeit of clementines.  They are beautiful, cheerful fruit and I really like the way they taste. 

Secrets Are Not Good in Public Administration: Rio Tinto Alcan Admits to Making Big Bucks Sellling Electricity During Lock-out

The aluminum multinational Rio Tinto Alcan made $74 million selling electricity to Hydro Québec during a recent lockout of its workers, Le Devoir reports. Under a very secret contract reached in 2006, the company usually buys electricity from the utility to augment what it produces in its own dams: the year before the lock-out, it bought about 200 megawatts.

But the contract also says, apparently, that Hydro Québec is obliged to buy the aluminum complex's excess.  That amounted to 387 megawatts in 2012, the result was another reason for the company to drag its feet when dealing with its locked-out workers.

The staggering sale came out this week with Rio Tinto Alcan's vice president Etienne Jacques testified before Quebec's Commission des relations de travail, which is looking into the conflict.  Up until then, the company had refused to say just how much they were making while not making aluminum.

Shady dealing  in the construction industry has been in the spotlight in Quebec since last fall, but it's clear that preferential treatment, such as the secret contract, goes much deeper. 

Still a Few Tickets Left for Wine and Cheese Tonight

It's going to be cold on the top of Mount Royal tonight, but inside Smith House things will be marvelously warm.

NDP Outrremont is holding a wine and cheese beginning at 6 p.m. with Tom Mulcair,  our MP and Leader of the Official Opposition, present to join in the fun.

For tickets, contact outremont@npd.ca or call 514 276-9257.

Support the CBC: Great Event at a Great Place

[image error] The Lion d'or, one of Montreal's greatest halls, will be the scene this evening of a rally in support of the CBC. 

Canada has been defined by its public broadcaster for decades, but it is under attack from the Stephen Harper governement.  Supposedly, it will get stable financing but successive budget cuts under one pretext or another have undercut its resources.

So the local NDP riding association in which the Maison Radio Canada sits is organizing a rally/show in support of the CBC/Radio Canada.  Scheduled to begin at  6 p.m. this evening, it is free and open to the public. Here's the Facebook event page:.

Good News Story: The Cat Came Back

Holly made it home to start the new year well, even though she'd run away when her owners were visiting in their RV 200 miles away.  The New York Times has one of those good news stories today that make you wonder about what guides animals--and people--in this life.

Cats do get around. Researchers at the University of Georgia armed 55 domestic cats with cameras, known as KittyCams, to learn more about their behavior. Scientists discovered cats hide, kill small animals and even find second families for food and shelter. Most interesting.

But beware, what this car does is not good news for the mouse.

Four Years As President Leaves Its Traces

Here's a picture of Barack Obama in 2008 and one of him in 2013.  Being president may be a "bully pulpit, " as Teddy Roosevelt said, but it also is a really, really tough job.

While I would like to have seen Obama  lead more vigorously, particularly when it came to economic affairs, I'm glad he won.  And certainly the pictures speak volumes about whether he took the job seriously.

Saturday Photo: Snow Swirling

This is a photo lifted from the publicity stills for the film Kamousaska .  The wind feels like this today, only the pictures I took were the pits.