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Who would benefit from dividends? I can’t see it as the groups most vulnerable in the economy. Restaurants don’t offer pensions
Nadine De Gannes, assistant professor of managerial accounting, Western University’s Ivey Business School
In case it needs stating, we didn’t compile the data to help the anti-capitalists in Ottawa. It was an accountability exercise based on information that publicly traded companies are required to disclose. Some reported the amount they received as a line item, some buried it and some felt it was immaterial and didn’t report it all. The Finance Department doesn’t name the companies that receive CEWS benefits.
The various corporate decisions to take from taxpayers rather than shareholders, or to access other funds available to them, were supported, in aggregate, by hundreds of professional managers and corporate directors. The strategy was totally legal, probably smart and, arguably, necessary, depending on your interpretation of a CEO’s fiduciary responsibility.
“We were able to keep more of our people together by protecting their jobs while continuing to deliver essential services to Canadians,” said Melissa Eckersley, a spokesperson for Toronto-based Corus Entertainment Inc., which owns the Global Television Network and a few dozen speciality channels.
Corus received almost $35 million in emergency wage benefits through Aug. 31, while paying out about $34 million in dividends. “We did maintain our commitment to our shareholders, including the many individual investors who rely on our quarterly dividend for income in these challenging times,” Eckersley said.
Some people might argue that if there is an issue with CEWS, it’s with Parliament, which passed laws that entitled thousands of companies to access free money with few strings attached. Banks often force creditors to stop paying dividends and repurchasing shares in return for loans. The federal government could have done something similar if it so desired.
