See if you can discern the principle at work in these two news reports below.

First, from yesterdays’ National Post:

The [Canadian] federal Department of Finance has flagged several prominent Crown corporations as “not self-sustaining,” including the CBC, VIA Rail and the National Arts Centre, and has identified them as entities that could be sold as part of the government’s asset review, newly released documents show.

Second, from today’s Globe and Mail:

The [Canadian] federal and Ontario governments are receiving 12 per cent of the common shares in the new GM in return for $10.6-billion (Canadian) in financial assistance. The governments also receive about $1.3-billion in debt and some preferred shares in the new company.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper held out almost no hope Monday that the bulk of the money will be repaid.

“Clearly, taxpayers will get some money back when the day comes that we begin to sell our equity share, but to be frank, we are not counting on that,” Mr. Harper told reporters. “We are not factoring that into our budgetary plans.”

I’m certainly not a mind-reader, but if I had to guess, here’s what I’d propose as the operative principle: “We will give taxpayers’ money to wealthy industrialists, shareholders, and friends, with little promise of return. We will NOT give taxpayers’ money to any organization which fails to benefit those same wealthy industrialists, shareholders, and friends…even if that organization actually provides valuable public services.”

What’s your guess?