Less than half of billions paid out under a corporate subsidy program will ever be recovered, says the Department of Industry. The $7 billion Strategic Innovation Fund was launched six years ago by then-Industry Minister Navdeep Bains on a false claim it would create 56,000 jobs.

The industry department in a submission to the Senate national finance committee said of billions spent under the program less than half was repayable. “To date of the total Strategic Innovation Fund investments approximately 40 percent are repayable and nearly 60 percent are non-repayable,” it said.

A disproportionate amount of funding went to Québec, figures showed. “Of the 110 agreements so far the Fund is supporting 31 projects in Québec, over a quarter of the program’s portfolio,” wrote the industry department. “Investments have been directed to key sectors such as aerospace where funding is aiding recovery.”