Ontario loses another multinational

My hometown of Brockville, Ont. was hi t with a devastating blow last week with the announcement that multinational consumerproducts maker Procter and Gamble is closing its local plant, taking with it 500 jobs.

P&G is Brockville’s largest private- sector employer — only the school board and the hospital employ more. The company has been a model corporate citizen for 40 years, donating millions of dollars to local causes and generally making Brockville a better place.

And I think it is fair to say Brockville made P& G a better company. The local plant has a well- educated, resourceful, diligent workforce. Although the plant made such household cleaning products as Tide and Bounce over the years, it is most famous as the site that pioneered the Swiffer sweeper.

But that’s all history now as P&G joins a growing list of companies leaving Ontario for more hospitable locales, in this case, a new megaplant in West Virginia.

The company is careful to avoid implying that government policy has anything to do with this, but you will notice these new mega- plants are always someplace other than Ontario. And it’s not hard to see why. About the only thing we are competitive on is corporate tax rates and a low dollar.

The Liberal governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne pursued an energy policy that gave Ontario one of the highest electricity rates in North America.

Despite warnings from independent analyses, including from the provincial auditor, the government continued to sign long- term contracts to provide green energy we don’t need at rates we can’t afford to pay. We sell the surplus at a massive loss to our economic competitors across the border.

Wynne’s temporary cut in electricity rates, paid for by borrowing money to reduce rates, has been exposed for the scam it is — costing at least $ 45 billion, or close to double the benefit of the temporary rate cut, according to Ontario’s financial accountability officer.

A P& G spokesman said electricity rates didn’t figure in the Brockville plant’s closure, but the company did approach Leeds- Grenville MPP Steve Clark three years ago to lobby for lower rates. Ontario’s rates are high now with the worst yet to come. That fact was no doubt a consideration.

If you think you can take advantage of cheap natural gas and oil to power your operation, Kathleen Wynne’s escalating cap- and- trade program will take care of that.

In the inevitable push-pull between labour and capital, the Ontario government has made it clear which side it is on. The millions of dollars Big Labour has spent keeping the Liberals in power in Ontario has had an effect.

It ’s how we ended up with the Ontario College of Trades, which is a needless barrier to entrepreneurs and small business.

And now we have the like- lihood of a host of burdensome new labour laws and a $ 15 minimum wage — all of which will destroy jobs and discourage investment.

The inescapable conclusion if you’re a company looking to set up shop is that Ontario is too expensive and it is going to get worse. Is it any wonder companies like Procter and Gamble are closing facilities?

It’s as if Kathleen Wynne doesn’t know capital is mobile and is oblivious to the fact the U. S. has a president who, like him or hate him, is likely to reduce taxes and regulations.

Ontario’s government thinks it can increase the regulatory burden and hike energy costs while maintaining or improving its economic standing, as long as it sprinkles around a little corporate welfare.

The world doesn’t work that way, as 500 Brockville families found out the hard way.