NDP

Tuesday May 17, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 17, 2022

Ontario NDP plan to run deficits for 6 years and cancel gas tax cut

May 10, 2022

Ontario’s New Democrats are pledging to run larger deficits than the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals if elected and would likely not balance the budget for six years, but the party is eyeing some cost savings from cancelling a gas tax cut.

That pledge is expected to save $600 million in the first year by reversing the Progressive Conservative government’s move to reduce the provincial portion of the gas tax by 5.7 cents a litre for six months starting July 1.

Catherine Fife, who has served as the NDP’s finance critic, presented the costing Sunday and acknowledged the high cost of living, including rising gas prices that have topped $2 a litre, but said the temporary cut from the Tories is just a “gimmick.”

“We are looking for a long-term, sustainable strategy to alleviate gas prices, but also to stabilize,” she said, pointing to the party’s promise to regulate gas prices.

Wednesday April 27, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 27, 2022

So… when was the last time you really thought about the NDP?

May 24, 2018

You might have noticed something interesting about the election campaign that’s underway, although not yet official, in Ontario.

The official opposition, the New Democrats? No one is talking about them.

So it’s not that the NDP isn’t getting any attention. It’s more that it wasn’t getting any attention for a long time before this. Let me ask a question of you, dear readers: before the platform release, when was the last time you thought about the NDP or Andrea Horwath at all? There was that recent weird nomination story, where a sitting NDP MPP didn’t win the right to run under the party’s banner in his current riding. There was all the speculation about the ejection of former NDP MPP Paul Miller from caucus last month. And that’s … about all that comes to mind? Which isn’t great. These aren’t shining moments for the party.

Thursday September 16, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 16, 2021

Jagmeet Singh takes aim at billionaires, promises to close corporate tax loopholes

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is recommitting to a crackdown on artful tax dodgers with high net worth.

February 10, 2021

The pledge is part of a basket of measures that aim to raise revenue while lowering inequality, but that fall short of covering the marquee expenditures atop the New Democrats’ election platform, economists say.

At a campaign stop across the Rideau Canal from Parliament, Singh said he would zero in on tax evasion and close loopholes that benefit billionaires.

“We believe that the ultrarich should pay their fair share so we can invest in people,” Singh said.

November 7, 2017

“(Liberal Leader) Justin Trudeau and Conservatives before him have let the super rich have a free ride. We want to put an end to that.”

The New Democrats’ plan to halt that luxury flight ranges from tougher enforcement at the Canada Revenue Agency to enhancing corporate tax transparency and capping stock option gains that are taxed at a lower rate.

Singh said the moves could raise revenue to help pay for programs such as universal pharmacare and more affordable housing. He suggested that investing an additional $100 million in the CRA would lead to a return of up to $25 billion in taxes and revenue in one year.

October 27, 2017

He also spoke about cracking down on large companies that make profits in Canada but pay little to no taxes here.

“These are tens and tens of billions of dollars of revenue that we could increase that would help us pay for the programs that we need,” he said.

In 2019, two reports from the CRA and the parliamentary budget officer found that Ottawa could be losing out on up to $51 billion in uncollected taxes each year due to illegal tax evasion and legal tax avoidance, both of which rely heavily on offshore tax havens.

CRA data from earlier this summer showed its recent efforts to combat tax evasion by the super rich resulted in zero prosecutions or convictions.

Big-ticket items in the NDP platform include: a guaranteed livable income; universal pharmacare and dental care as well as free mental health care for uninsured patients; $10-a-day childcare “for all parents”; an end to for-profit long-term care; and slashed student debt.

Some of the promises start with smaller targets — the guaranteed minimum income would begin with low-income seniors and Canadians with disabilities — but look to scale up to comprehensive social programs.

They don’t come cheap.

A guaranteed livable income would cost taxpayers between $84.2 billion and $197.2 billion annually by 2024-25, depending on the parameters, according to a November report from the parliamentary budget officer.

The NDP’s universal pharmacare scheme would see Singh spend $38.5 billion over five years, reaching more than $11 billion annually by 2024-25, according to an estimate by budget officer Yves Giroux published Friday.

A national child-care program that sets its sights on $10 a day will cost about $30 billion over five years, based on the amount earmarked for it in the Liberal budget from April.

June 18, 2020

As a counterweight to that hefty expenditure scale, Singh has proposed higher taxes on wealthy Canadians and corporations.

The measures include a wealth tax of one per cent on households with fortunes topping $10 million, an income tax hike of two points to 35 per cent for the highest bracket and a three-point hike to put the corporate tax rate at 18 per cent.

Singh would also impose a 20 per cent foreign buyers’ tax on residential property purchases and a temporary COVID-19 “excess profit tax” of 15 per cent, applicable to extra earnings by big companies. (Global News) 

 

Friday September 3, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 3, 2021

Pharmacare AWOL in 2021

June 13, 2019

Nearly a quarter century ago, the federal government hosted a conference on national pharmacare in Saskatoon – the birthplace of Canadian medicare. The meeting was extraordinarily frustrating to delegates who anticipated action, not talk, at the time.

We know because we were there.

You see, that Saskatoon meeting was held on the heels of Prime Minister Chrétien’s 1997 National Forum on Health. Echoing previous national commissions, the forum recommended the implementation of a universal, comprehensive, public pharmacare program to work alongside Canadian medicare.

April 22, 2021

Yet, there we were, an audience of approximately 300 health professionals, experts, public representatives and stakeholders gathered to “engage in dialogue” on an issue that already had a very clear answer.

The national pharmacare system recommended would have reduced Canadian drug costs dramatically, meaning savings for governments, businesses and households. More Canadians would have access to medicines because they would be fully covered, but manufacturers would no longer be able to charge more in Canada than they did in comparable countries.

October 21, 2016

Drug companies preferred that Canada adopt a system of mandatory private insurance based on the model they had just convinced the Quebec government to implement in 1997 — at great cost to Quebec households and businesses. Insurers favoured the Quebec model too – what industry wouldn’t want people to be legally required to purchase their products without regulations on profit margins?

In 2019, the Liberals campaigned on a promise to act on pharmacare plan. Such a national pharmacare system was mentioned in the 2020 Throne Speech, Budget 2021 and 2021 mandate letters. But there has been little concrete action toward implementation.

Instead, the federal government has reverted yet again to “stakeholder engagement,” rather than policy action. (Red Deer Advocate) 

 

Friday September 25, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 25, 2020

Feds begin new sitting by boosting COVID-19 recovery benefit

January 23, 2020

The federal government has announced it is increasing one of a trio of promised new COVID-19 aid benefits, to be equivalent to the amount received through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that will expire at the end of the month, a move that may have secured the political support needed for the Liberal minority to stay afloat.

Kicking off the first full day of the new parliamentary session, the Liberals tabled Bill C-2 to implement the new benefits, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal minority seeks opposition support to avoid a snap election during a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The House of Commons began its as-normal-as-possible sitting for the first time since the pandemic put a pause on regular business back in March. Debate in response to Wednesday’s speech from the throne will continue throughout the day, offering more MPs time to speak to whether they liked what they heard, and if it’ll be enough for them to support the government in a confidence vote.

October 23, 2019

The minority Liberals will need to garner at least some support for the throne speech from across the aisle, or risk seeing their government fall. Early indications were that this support, may not be as secure as the Liberals might like. The Liberals currently hold 154 seats, the Conservatives have 121, the Bloc Québécois hold 32, the NDP have 24, the Green Party has three and there are two Independents and two vacancies.

The speech fixated primarily on how to keep supporting Canadians financially through COVID-19, while repairing inequalities the pandemic has exposed. Billed as “an ambitious plan for an unprecedented reality,” it included a commitment to keep up certain business aid benefits, to create a national child care and job creation plan, and emphasized that Canada has to tackle climate change, systemic racism, and gender inequity.

With the Conservatives already ardently against the speech, and the Bloc Quebecois sounding like they haven’t seen enough yet, but could come around if billions in new health funding is sent to the provinces, the Liberals are looking to the NDP for support.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh had said right after the throne speech that he wanted to see CERB extended and a form of paid sick leave implemented. (CTV)