Is offering financial incentives to companies a good way to grow the economy?
Both the provincial NDP and Canadian Taxpayers Federation say they are not and urge the provincial government to stop what they call the practice of corporate welfare.
Enterprise Saint John’s Steve Carson says there are other factors that supersede any financial incentives and they are the cost of doing business along with the quality of the local workforce. Carson says Saint John fares well on both counts.
Larry Hachey, who chairs Enterprise Saint John, says offering companies financial incentives is necessary because you have to keep in mind Saint John is off the beaten track from a North American perspective and we are competing against every other jurisdiction in North America.
