Independent Senators secure $262K budget boost, despite Tory pushback over doing ‘government’ work
The Independent Senators Group’s quest for equality in the Upper Chamber reached another milestone last week, as the budget for what is now the largest group in the Senate got a $262,000 boost. The additional funding brings the ISG’s total budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year to roughly $984,000, thanks to ISG leadership securing a […]
It’s time the PBO take the Canada Revenue Agency to court
The time has come for the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) to take the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to court in order to compel them to provide information necessary to calculate the tax gap, the difference between what is owed in taxes and what has actually been collected. The CRA is required, under the Parliament of […]
Budget 2018: a litmus test for the future of Canadian research
Canada needs research and the people who practise it. From 2006 to 2015, however, federal government erosion of support for independent research nearly hamstrung the community’s capacity to meet these needs. Research grants faded away. As Canada tries to build a knowledge-based economy, the demand for bright, creative minds with cutting-edge skills is growing rapidly. […]
I’m okay, you’re screwed: the inequality time bomb
As if the anecdotal evidence weren’t overwhelming enough, a study published Nov. 15 in the research journal Nature warned that record levels of income inequality, particularly in the United States, could produce social instability. The Republicans in Congress, apparently fearing an unruly mob, responded by passing massive tax breaks for the people who make the barricades. The U.S., […]
Liberal Senator tables legislation to force CRA to reveal tax gap, after ongoing ‘mystery’ of reticence
Following the recent Paradise Papers revelations of Canadians involved in offshore tax havens, a Senator is reinvigorating his push for greater transparency from the Canada Revenue Agency, after years of what he said has been hitting “roadblocks” thrown up by the agency. Liberal Senator Percy Downe (Charlottetown, P.E.I.) introduced his bill, S-243, to change the […]
Getting rid of sexism in Indian Act to cost taxpayers $407-million annually: PBO
The latest iteration of legislation expanding Indian status eligibility to all Indigenous women and descendants who previously lost it or did not qualify would cost the federal government an additional $407-million each year, according to an assessment from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) released Tuesday. The PBO also estimated that one-time administrative costs could total roughly […]
Conservatives, NDP vow to hammer away at Morneau’s bills, but government might not give them a chance in final weeks before Christmas
Conservative and NDP MPs will be using every chance to grill Finance Minister Bill Morneau in the House over the next two weeks, including debate on the bills Mr. Morneau has sponsored that are still in the Chamber, say House leaders for the Conservative and New Democratic parties. They may not get the chance, however, […]
New housing strategy not doing enough to help rural residents reach ‘Canadian dream,’ remote communities left out, say opposition MPs
With no rural-specific programming, opposition MPs representing rural ridings say they are concerned the Liberals’ new housing strategy is going to leave their constituents out in the cold. The National Housing Strategy, as announced Nov. 22, is a $40-billion plan to build more social housing units, reduce chronic homelessness, and create more affordable housing for targeted […]
Rookie Liberal MPs ‘super nervous’ about Morneau’s ethical issues, worried Grits look like a ‘bunch of entitled elitists’
Rookies and numerous Liberal MPs representing ridings won by close margins in 2015 are becoming “super nervous” about the ongoing explosive ethics controversies that have dogged Finance Minister Bill Morneau in recent weeks, and caused embarrassment to other senior Liberals over the last two years, and say these “unforced errors” give credence to the “false” […]
The problem with Canada’s Revenue Agency
Recent public leaks of tax information have once again put the spotlight on the growing, and never-ending problem of overseas tax evasion, where billions of dollars are hidden overseas to avoid paying Canadian taxes. As we know, it is not illegal to have a bank account overseas, but it is illegal not to report any […]
