In the fall, the federal government launched a six-week pilot program to collect firearms it classified as 'prohibited' from licence-holders in Cape Breton, N.S.JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press

When an individual falls victim to the sunk cost fallacy, the consequences that follow are generally even worse. Maybe it’s an extra few thousand wasted on a rust bucket of a car just to feel like the money invested in it wasn’t for nothing. Maybe it means staying in a bad relationship that ought to have ended years ago. Maybe it’s why – just to pick a totally random example – a columnist will persist with a snoozer of a column because she’s typed out 500 words already. These are emotional, illogical decisions, but humans are emotional, illogical creatures who often have a hard time reversing course when we feel like we’ve already invested a lot of money, time or attention.

When governments fall victim to the sunk cost fallacy, however, the toll is much higher than a broken-down Nissan blocking traffic. In the infamous case of the Concorde jet debacle, the British and French governments continued pouring hundreds of millions – and eventually billions – over the course of decades into developing the airliner, even after it became clear the project was not economically viable. In the end, the Concorde flew commercially for less than 30 years.

Canada is apparently ready to launch its very own Concorde, having spent nearly six years and close to $100-million (

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