The non-profit Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) released a study last month examining Canadian federal subsidies to businesses. It found that over 18 billion Canadian dollars (CAD) in subsidies were distributed by Industry Canada to Canadian business between fiscal years 1982 and 2005.

On the Dole: Businesses, Lobbyists, and Industry Canada's Subsidy Programs, focused solely on subsidy programs run by Industry Canada, the federal government's industry department. The CTF says it discovered over 150 programs paying repayable and non-repayable tax dollars to Canadian businesses.

Among the study's findings was that the top 50 subsidy recipients received a third of all money authorized, or CAD 5.9 billion, while the top three recipients received CAD 2.6 billion. The study also revealed that CAD 7.1 billion of the total subsidies distributed by Industry Canada were considered repayable funding, of which only CAD 1.25 billion, or 17.5%, had been repaid to date.

The study also looked at the role played by lobbyists in the subsidies system. In a press release issued by CTF, the organization stated that "audits have revealed companies routinely paid forbidden ‘success fees' to lobbyists in exchange for securing subsidy handouts." Industry Canada has 2, 234 registered lobbyist, making it the most lobbied department in Ottawa.