LETTER

Tax money for blimps? 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is reacting to news that Minister of the Economy and Innovation Pierre Fitzgibbon is open to again subsidizing French blimp manufacturer Flying Whales. Quebeckers are not giving billions of dollars to their government every year for it to spend millions on massive balloons, says the CTF. If this balloon pops, we won’t be the only ones saying ‘Oh, the economy!’

Last October, Quebec announced Investissement Québec would take a $30 million stake in French blimp manufacturer Flying Whales following a ministerial decree.  Founded in 2012, Flying Whales has not been able to confirm having a single client for its blimps.

We need to address the elephant in the room: despite Minister Fitzgibbon beliefs that there’s a market for this, not a single customer has manifested.  Flying Whales risks being yet another white elephant paid for with Quebeckers’ hard-earned money.

Renaud Brossard, CTF

Montréal