Politicians pressed on whether government can, should step in on Bombardier pay
OTTAWA — Federal and Quebec politicians were pressed Tuesday on whether government can — or should — allow Bombardier executives to grant themselves generous raises while taxpayers are helping keep the company afloat.
Planned pay hikes for six executives were announced last week, with most of the money set to start flowing in 2019, but that’s now been delayed a year amid a sustained public outcry that included a protest at the company’s Montreal office.
The company’s move has seemed action enough for both the federal and Quebec governments, who together have given the company more than $1 billion in funding since 2015 to help develop new aircraft.
The point of the $372.5-million federal loan for Bombardier’s CSeries and Global 7000 aircraft programs was the jobs and research that will flow, said federal Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains.