To “Increase Sector Competitiveness” Fed Provides Funding To Industry Leader
Another instance of pandemic related subsidies to large corporations is discovered within the Transfer Payments in the Public Accounts of Canada for 2020-2021.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. received three separate payments to its head office totalling $12.32 million.
Maple Leaf Foods is a Canadian consumer packaged meats company located in Mississauga, Ontario.
The company received $1.8 million from the Emergency Processing Fund (EPF) which focused on helping companies safeguard the health and safety of workers due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Then, Maple Leaf Foods obtained $5.5 million from the AgriInnovate Program which “[aimed] to accelerate the commercialization, adoption and/or demonstration of innovative products, technologies, processes or services that increase sector competitiveness and sustainability.”
Yet, the $5.5 million that Maple Leaf Foods received was 17% of the total funding from the AgriInnovate Program. According to Natural Resources Canada, Maple Leaf Foods is a leading Canadian food processor and is Canada’s leading producer of pork, branded poultry and bread.
Funding that was designed to stimulate competitiveness in the food production sector was largely given to an already major player in that industry.
The 17% share of the funding set aside to stimulate competition in the food production sector ultimately went to one of the industry's major players.
A third payment from the federal government provided Maple Leaf Foods with just over $5 million under the Strategic Innovation Fund. This fund had a similar focus as the AgriInnovate Program, albeit a broader industry scope.
What is pertinent here is that Maple Leaf Foods posted a record net income of over $113 million in its earnings statement for the 2020 year-end.
Along with record profits, the company has maintained a healthy free cash flow hovering around $300 million and a steady $100 million of cash and cash equivalents in the last four years.
It is hard to fault Maple Leaf Foods for accepting the subsidies to help with its operations.
A question needs to be asked by Canadian taxpayers:
Are there better uses for taxpayer dollars than being given to large, profitable corporations during a public health crisis?
(Top photo of a Maple Leaf Foods building via Bloomberg News)
