Politics Briefing: Liberal promise to impose surtax on banks and insurers should be expanded to oil firms and big box stores, NDP motion says – The Globe and Mail
The Liberal campaign promise to impose a surtax on banks and insurance companies should be expanded to include oil firms and big box stores, according to an NDP motion put forward for a day of Commons debate Monday ahead of the 2022 federal budget.
The Liberal Party’s 2021 election platform included a pledge to raise nearly $11-billion in tax revenue over five years through tax hikes on large banks and insurance companies. The platform proposal included a three percentage point corporate tax rate increase – from 15 per cent to 18 per cent – on banks and insurance companies with more than $1-billion in profits, as well as requiring these same companies to pay a “Canada Recovery Dividend.”
The Liberal Party document suggested the surtax would be in place as soon as Jan. 1, 2022, yet Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s December fiscal update did not formally adopt the platform pledge as government policy. At the time of the update, a senior government official said the tax hike promise would be addressed in the 2022 budget. As a result, the upcoming budget will be closely watched for details on whether the Liberals follow through.
Ms. Freeland is expected to announce a budget date in the coming days.
The House of Commons resumed sitting Monday after a two-week recess. With Canada’s inflation rate hitting a three-decade high, opposition parties of all stripes are regularly raising cost of living concerns on behalf of constituents.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he’s worried the Liberals won’t deliver the promised tax hike, let alone expand it to other sectors as his party proposes.
“I am concerned that they’re no longer interested, and part of [Monday]’s opposition day motion is to put that on the table to say they should be implementing that tax on banks and financial institutions that have made significant profits,” he told reporters at a news conference.
Monday’s opposition day gave the NDP an opportunity to put forward a motion of its choosing for a day of debate and a vote later in the week.
“And they should expand that to include big box stores and oil companies.”
During the debate, Liberal MPs suggested the government does intend to bring in the promised surtax.
“Our government’s commitment to a fair tax system is ongoing,” said Liberal MP Terry Beech, who is Ms. Freeland’s parliamentary secretary. “This includes our commitment to ensuring that large profitable banks and insurers pay their fair share.”
The NDP motion said the tax should be expanded to address the rising cost of gas, groceries and housing by using the tax revenue “to help Canadians with the cost-of-living crisis.”
Conservative MPs mocked the NDP motion, warning that higher taxes on business will ultimately mean higher prices for Canadian consumers. The Official Opposition said broad tax cuts are the best way to address cost of living concerns.
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TODAY’S HEADLINES
`CYBER INCIDENT’ HITS NRC – The National Research Council, Canada’s premier science and engineering institution, says it’s been hit by a “cyber incident” – a disruption that comes two months after the country’s foreign ministry suffered a computer network malfunction widely regarded as a cyber attack. Story here.
GOVERNMENT URGED TO ACT ON CPR WORK STOPPAGE – Canadian businesses and industry experts are urging Ottawa to intervene in a nationwide work stoppage at Canadian Pacific Railway that is posing a threat to food inflation, supply chains and the country’s reputation as a reliable agricultural partner. Story here.
COSTS RELEASED FOR BERGEN STORNOWAY MOVE – The federal government paid almost $20,000 to prepare for Candice Bergen’s move into Stornoway, the official residence of the Official Opposition leader, though she holds the role on an interim basis and will need to vacate the home in a matter of months. Story here.
REMPEL GARNER BACKS BROWN – Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has gained a high-profile Conservative in his bid to become federal party leader, but Alberta’s Michelle Rempel Garner was immediately targeted by a rival campaign for joining his team. Story here.
CHARGES RARE IN MOST HATE-CRIME CASES – Charges are not being laid in most hate-crime cases across Canada – despite police reporting an overall spike in hate-crime offences during the pandemic – and there is a wide range of how agencies approach hate crimes and secure justice for victims. Story here.
ISLAMIC CENTRE REACTS TO HATE ATTACK – A day after a man armed with an axe and bear spray stormed Mississauga’s Dar Al-Tawheed Islamic Centre, in what police believe was a hate-motivated attack, a member of the mosque said he and other congregants will not be kept from their daily prayers. Story here.
FORD IN WASHINGTON – Ontario Premier Doug Ford is travelling across the border for the first time since the pandemic began in an effort to promote the province as an important trading partner with the United States. Story here from CTV.
CALLS FOR NEW TRANSIT-FINANCING APPROACH – Canadian governments have papered over public transit agencies’ shortfalls with one-time cash transfers. But with ridership slumps expected to continue, advocates, politicians and transit executives are calling for a new approach to financing public transportationin Canada – one that doesn’t force agencies to go cap in hand to governments as passenger numbers fluctuate. Story here.
KEY BYELECTION LOOMS IN MANITOBA – Two former CFL players – Obby Khan and Willard Reaves – face off in a Manitoba by-election this week seen as test for the provincial government. Story here.
THIS AND THAT
TODAY IN THE COMMONS – Projected Order of Business at the House of Commons, March 21, accessible here.
AIR CANADA BOSS AT LANGUAGES COMMITTEE – Air Canada President Michael Rousseau is scheduled to appear Monday before the Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages. Mr. Rousseau was in the spotlight last year after he delivered a speech, almost entirely in English, to the Montreal Chamber of Commerce, then said he had been able to live in the city for 14 years without speaking French. CTV provides some context here for Monday’s 3:30-to-5:30 p.m. hearing that’s accessible by webcast. The meeting notice is here.
JOLY AT THE MUNK SCHOOL – The Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy has posted video of an expansive forum appearance last Friday by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly. The Minister delivers remarks and then takes questions from Janice Stein, founding director of the Munk School. The video is here.
THE DECIBEL
In Monday’s edition of The Globe and Mail podcast, lawyer Harold Hongju Koh talks about an international court ruling ordering Russia to stop the war in Ukraine. Mr. Koh was one of the lawyers representing Ukraine in the case against Russia and he’s also the Sterling Professor of International Law at Yale University. He talks about the arguments lawyers brought forward, Russia’s response (or lack thereof), and makes the case for international law, even if the way it’s enforced isn’t always clear. The Decibel is here.
PRIME MINISTER’S DAY
The Prime Minister, in the Ottawa region, holds private meetings.
LEADERS
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, in Ottawa, held a news conference to discuss his party’s opposition day motion on taxation, and was scheduled to give a speech in the House of Commons on the motion.
No schedules released for other leaders.
OPINION
Campbell Clark (The Globe and Mail)on a coming global economic Cold War: “U.S. President Joe Biden has left a threat of global economic war hanging out there with his warning that China would face consequences if it aided Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. But even if that devastating economic clash is averted, the stage has been set for an economic Cold War. The sanctions imposed against Russia mark the first time economic weapons have been wielded so extensively against such a large adversary. The freezing of oligarchs’ assets, cutting Russian firms off from the SWIFT payment system, imposing tariffs on many Russian goods – all are being used, quite rightly, to punish Vladimir Putin in lieu of a direct military confrontation with a nuclear power.”
Don Drummond and William Robson (Contributed to The Globe and Mail) on when federal budgets will reflect the reality that Canada has blown through our fiscal guardrails: “The budget that federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will present shortly will reveal whether the government is serious about putting the national finances on to a sustainable track. There is room for doubt. Since 2015, the government had been running deficits larger than it promised, and larger than a strong economy justified. Then it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with debt-financed spending on an unprecedented scale.”
Shachi Kurl (The Ottawa Citizen)on Defence Minister Anita Anand’s uphill battle to boost Canada’s defence spending: “Defence Minister Anita Anand says she is planning an “aggressive” increase to defence spending to reach the 2 per cent of national GDP that Canada, as a NATO member, has pledged to spend. She should prepare for a tough battle. Put aside for a moment that Canada’s armed forces have a long tradition of not spending the money they are already allocated. The fact is, neither defence spending, promises to our international allies, nor the general state and readiness of our armed forces are so-called “ballot issues” of importance to voters, and the politicians know it. Instead, the political discourse around defence swings between a narrative that we are not a military country at all, to a more jingoistic version that unabashedly cheers our militarism, but neglects literally to put its money where its mouth is.”
Bob Rae (Canadian Politics and Public Policy) on a defining moment for the United Nations: “There is no overstating the seriousness of the moment. It is right to point out that there are many other bloody conflicts going on in the world right now, from Myanmar to Syria to Yemen to Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa across the Sahel, and that those disputes are also leading to the displacement of tens of millions of people from their homes — the greatest humanitarian crisis in modern times. But it is true to say that no conflict so clearly reveals this era’s unprecedented challenges to the institutional structures we thought would keep us from the brink of existential conflict.”
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NEW YORK (AP) — In a new video posted early Election Day, Beyoncé channels Pamela Anderson in the television program “Baywatch” – red one-piece swimsuit and all – and asks viewers to vote.
In the two-and-a-half-minute clip, set to most of “Bodyguard,” a four-minute cut from her 2024 country album “Cowboy Carter,” Beyoncé cosplays as Anderson’s character before concluding with a simple message, written in white text: “Happy Beylloween,” followed by “Vote.”
At a rally for Donald Trump in Pittsburgh on Monday night, the former president spoke dismissively about Beyoncé’s appearance at a Kamala Harris rally in Houston in October, drawing boos for the megastar from his supporters.
“Beyoncé would come in. Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs. There were no songs. There was no happiness,” Trump said.
She did not perform — unlike in 2016, when she performed at a presidential campaign rally for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland – but she endorsed Harris and gave a moving speech, initially joined onstage by her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
“I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé said.
“A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” she said at the rally in Houston, her hometown.
“Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations,” she continued. “We must vote, and we need you.”
Harris used the song in July during her first official public appearance as a presidential candidate at her campaign headquarters in Delaware. That same month, Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, publicly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyoncé gave permission to Harris to use the song, a campaign official who was granted anonymity to discuss private campaign operations confirmed to The Associated Press.
Outside of sports and a “Cold front coming down from Canada,” American news media only report on Canadian events that they believe are, or will be, influential to the US. Therefore, when Justin Trudeau’s announcement, having finally read the room, that Canada will be reducing the number of permanent residents admitted by more than 20 percent and temporary residents like skilled workers and college students will be cut by more than half made news south of the border, I knew the American media felt Trudeau’s about-face on immigration was newsworthy because many Americans would relate to Trudeau realizing Canada was accepting more immigrants than it could manage and are hoping their next POTUS will follow Trudeau’s playbook.
Canada, with lots of space and lacking convenient geographical ways for illegal immigrants to enter the country, though still many do, has a global reputation for being incredibly accepting of immigrants. On the surface, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver appear to be multicultural havens. However, as the saying goes, “Too much of a good thing is never good,” resulting in a sharp rise in anti-immigrant sentiment, which you can almost taste in the air. A growing number of Canadians, regardless of their political affiliation, are blaming recent immigrants for causing the housing affordability crises, inflation, rise in crime and unemployment/stagnant wages.
Throughout history, populations have engulfed themselves in a tribal frenzy, a psychological state where people identify strongly with their own group, often leading to a ‘us versus them’ mentality. This has led to quick shifts from complacency to panic and finger-pointing at groups outside their tribe, a phenomenon that is not unique to any particular culture or time period.
My take on why the American news media found Trudeau’s blatantly obvious attempt to save his political career, balancing appeasement between the pitchfork crowd, who want a halt to immigration until Canada gets its house in order, and immigrant voters, who traditionally vote Liberal, newsworthy; the American news media, as do I, believe immigration fatigue is why Kamala Harris is going to lose on November 5th.
Because they frequently get the outcome wrong, I don’t take polls seriously. According to polls in 2014, Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives and Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals were in a dead heat in Ontario, yet Wynne won with more than twice as many seats. In the 2018 Quebec election, most polls had the Coalition Avenir Québec with a 1-to-5-point lead over the governing Liberals. The result: The Coalition Avenir Québec enjoyed a landslide victory, winning 74 of 125 seats. Then there’s how the 2016 US election polls showing Donald Trump didn’t have a chance of winning against Hillary Clinton were ridiculously way off, highlighting the importance of the election day poll and, applicable in this election as it was in 2016, not to discount ‘shy Trump supporters;’ voters who support Trump but are hesitant to express their views publicly due to social or political pressure.
My distrust in polls aside, polls indicate Harris is leading by a few points. One would think that Trump’s many over-the-top shenanigans, which would be entertaining were he not the POTUS or again seeking the Oval Office, would have him far down in the polls. Trump is toe-to-toe with Harris in the polls because his approach to the economy—middle-class Americans are nostalgic for the relatively strong economic performance during Trump’s first three years in office—and immigration, which Americans are hyper-focused on right now, appeals to many Americans. In his quest to win votes, Trump is doing what anyone seeking political office needs to do: telling the people what they want to hear, strategically using populism—populism that serves your best interests is good populism—to evoke emotional responses. Harris isn’t doing herself any favours, nor moving voters, by going the “But, but… the orange man is bad!” route, while Trump cultivates support from “weird” marginal voting groups.
To Harris’s credit, things could have fallen apart when Biden abruptly stepped aside. Instead, Harris quickly clinched the nomination and had a strong first few weeks, erasing the deficit Biden had given her. The Democratic convention was a success, as was her acceptance speech. Her performance at the September 10th debate with Donald Trump was first-rate.
Harris’ Achilles heel is she’s now making promises she could have made and implemented while VP, making immigration and the economy Harris’ liabilities, especially since she’s been sitting next to Biden, watching the US turn into the circus it has become. These liabilities, basically her only liabilities, negate her stance on abortion, democracy, healthcare, a long-winning issue for Democrats, and Trump’s character. All Harris has offered voters is “feel-good vibes” over substance. In contrast, Trump offers the tangible political tornado (read: steamroll the problems Americans are facing) many Americans seek. With Trump, there’s no doubt that change, admittedly in a messy fashion, will happen. If enough Americans believe the changes he’ll implement will benefit them and their country…
The case against Harris on immigration, at a time when there’s a huge global backlash to immigration, even as the American news media are pointing out, in famously immigrant-friendly Canada, is relatively straightforward: During the first three years of the Biden-Harris administration, illegal Southern border crossings increased significantly.
The words illegal immigration, to put it mildly, irks most Americans. On the legal immigration front, according to Forbes, most billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. Google, Microsoft, and Oracle, to name three, have immigrants as CEOs. Immigrants, with tech skills and an entrepreneurial thirst, have kept America leading the world. I like to think that Americans and Canadians understand the best immigration policy is to strategically let enough of these immigrants in who’ll increase GDP and tax base and not rely on social programs. In other words, Americans and Canadians, and arguably citizens of European countries, expect their governments to be more strategic about immigration.
The days of the words on a bronze plaque mounted inside the Statue of Liberty pedestal’s lower level, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are no longer tolerated. Americans only want immigrants who’ll benefit America.
Does Trump demagogue the immigration issue with xenophobic and racist tropes, many of which are outright lies, such as claiming Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets? Absolutely. However, such unhinged talk signals to Americans who are worried about the steady influx of illegal immigrants into their country that Trump can handle immigration so that it’s beneficial to the country as opposed to being an issue of economic stress.
In many ways, if polls are to be believed, Harris is paying the price for Biden and her lax policies early in their term. Yes, stimulus spending quickly rebuilt the job market, but at the cost of higher inflation. Loosen border policies at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment was increasing was a gross miscalculation, much like Trudeau’s immigration quota increase, and Biden indulging himself in running for re-election should never have happened.
If Trump wins, Democrats will proclaim that everyone is sexist, racist and misogynous, not to mention a likely White Supremacist, and for good measure, they’ll beat the “voter suppression” button. If Harris wins, Trump supporters will repeat voter fraud—since July, Elon Musk has tweeted on Twitter at least 22 times about voters being “imported” from abroad—being widespread.
Regardless of who wins tomorrow, Americans need to cool down; and give the divisive rhetoric a long overdue break. The right to an opinion belongs to everyone. Someone whose opinion differs from yours is not by default sexist, racist, a fascist or anything else; they simply disagree with you. Americans adopting the respectful mindset to agree to disagree would be the best thing they could do for the United States of America.
PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.
Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.
Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”
The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”
Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”
The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.
In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.
Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.
In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.
In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.
Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.
But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.
“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.
