“A lot of Canadians didn’t agree with giving GM a second chance. Quite frankly, I can respect that,” he says. “We want to make this a company all Canadians can be proud of again. That’s why I’m here to announce we have repaid our government loans, in full, with interest – five years ahead of the original schedule.” (The American version of the ad is nearly identical.)
Truth of the matter is,
When the governments of the United States, Canada and Ontario decided to pump more than $60-billion into GM last year to keep it from sinking, they agreed to convert the vast majority of the cash into shares, so as to not saddle the business with too much debt. A sliver of the money – about $8.4-billion (U.S.) – remained as loans, and that’s what has been repaid. Big shareholders, the taxpayers remain.
Derek DeCloet says it best,
Had he said those words, quite frankly, I could have respected that. It would have made GM a company I can be proud of again. It would also have been better than trying to fool the stupid into believing GM had just accomplished the impossible – the complete payback of $60-billion in less than a year.
A full read of the article is recommended for those not adverse to skepticism.
Source: theglobeandmail.com
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