Your tax dollars misspent

There goes close to three quarters of a million tax dollars. [Cue a giant sucking sound.]

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency issued a statement today saying the agency will hand $220,000 to the Winery Association of Nova Scotia.

The money, from the agency’s Innovative Communities Fund, is for development of a marketing strategy.

Meanwhile, the Wolfville farmers market will soon have a new, year-round home thanks to a $250,000 federal investment.

The money will be used to renovate the DeWolfe Building, a former apple warehouse.

Additional funding for the project includes $245,000 from Nova Scotia’s Agriculture Department and $3,000 from the Town of Wolfville. [CTV]

A near half million from 3 levels of government for the Wolfville Farm Market? Investment they call it. BS. We don’t think there will be much coming back into the government coffers.

Senator Kelvin Ogilvie made the announcement in Wolfville on Saturday. For shame! We  don’t appreciate our tax money being doled out to Business bums. We don’t agree with Corporate welfare. We would prefer to see money spent on fair policies which create an environment where every business has an opportunity to succeed and perhaps even grow. Or real investment into R&D , into innovation which might create viable new industries or businesses.

Instead we see all levels of government pumping large amounts of money into favoured groups. We think the wineries are doing very well without this spending thank you very much. In the case  of the Wolfville market, we thought we saw ads on TV warning against the underground economy and here they are supporting this tax free zone with tax dollars!!! Shocking!

Will a farmer growing corn get this kind of infusion? Do the dollars given the Wolfville market help Elderkins, Stirlings, Hennigers or Noggins Corner who have managed to survive in spite of all the regulatory obstacles governments put in their way? No, worse than that, it helps their competition! Is this a fair game? Is it fair when one team is playing uphill and the other team gets extra players?

And it is all our tax money, not just the 3K from Wolfville, money  from 3 different pockets. It is tax money also from HRM residents, and from some poor sods out west. We can bet they can think of a few other things they would rather see their share spent on.

You disappoint us Kelvin.

Kelvin a Senator

Ex Acadia Prez Kelvin Ogilvie was among today’s appointees to the Senate. Not much to say about it that hasn’t already been said, except

Who is the opposition?

In Kings-Hants, who will be the opposition for Scott Brison? We admit we have no idea. But perhaps Scott does?

Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison has written Dr. Kelvin Ogilvie, recently appointed by the President of the Treasury Board as a member of an ‘Independent Panel of Experts’ reviewing the future of federal non-regulatory research labs, regarding the Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre in Kentville.