Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Granny’s gets $2.5 million for expansion

Taxpayers are putting $2.5 million into a $37-million expansion and equipment upgrading at Granny’s Poultry in Blumenort, Man., near Winnipeg.

Speaking for about 200 farmers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan who own the business, chief executive officer Craig Evans said the investments “will keep Granny’s growing and competitive for years to come.

”Investing in state-of-the-art equipment will improve production efficiencies and help us develop new market opportunities for Manitoba poultry.”


The company and spokesmen for the federal and Winnipeg governments justified their investments, saying the expansion will generate 150 more jobs at the plant.

If this is a wise investment, surely Granny's Poultry could do it without handouts from taxpayers. Besides, quota-holding farmers have a lot more assets than most Canadians.

And if it's a foolish investment, all the more reason to deny the subsidy.

And that goes for almost every penny that our politicians "invest" in companies.

They should concentrate on public services, such as health care, education, transportation and the justice system.