And what has it bought? Hostility
By Kevin Lacey and Franco Terrazzano Canadian Taxpayers Federation Sixty-seven billion dollars. That’s how much the federal government’s equalization scheme has cost Alberta taxpayers since its inception in 1957. This year, equalization will cost Alberta taxpayers nearly $3 billion. That means that equalization will cost an Alberta family of four about $2,600 this year on…
Referendum is exposing a deep crack in Confederation
Alberta’s referendum on equalization is more than a vote on a federal program: it’s an urgently needed conversation about a deep crack in Confederation. So far, Canada has ignored the problem and the rift has grown. Now a referendum yes vote will push federal and provincial governments to the negotiation table. So, let’s talk. All…
And once you’ve lost your credibility it’s very hard to grow it back
In politics, nothing is more important than credibility. Politicians can deliver stirring speeches and launch searing attack ads, but if they don’t tell the truth, nobody believes any of it. And, one way or another, voters will hold them accountable. After our “election about nothing,” Erin O’Toole has a serious credibility problem. Take his flip-flop…
NDP, Liberals and Conservatives all helped themselves to the wage subsidy meant for struggling businesses
Politicians are good at preaching, but they’re not so good at practicing what they preach. Case in point: the federal wage subsidy. Federal politicians have been moralizing about the evils of business executives taking bonuses while collecting the pandemic wage subsidy, but their silence on their own party taking the subsidy is deafening. At the…
$424 million(!) being added to the debt every single day
By Franco Terrazzano and Jay Goldberg Canadian Taxpayers Federation If the federal government’s fiscal policy stays on its current trajectory, Canada’s trillion-dollar debt will be a major drain on taxpayers’ wallets for generations to come. In this election, voters will need to closely examine parties’ plans to plug that drain. Unfortunately, the current Liberal plan…
A huge portion of the high cost of living is being driven by government policy
By Franco Terrazzano and Jay Goldberg Canadian Taxpayers Federation Political parties are trying their best to convince Canadians they can make life more affordable. But if politicians want us to believe them, they need to look in the mirror. That’s because making life more affordable really means tackling the damage government does through regulation, high…
More deficits mean more debt that your kids and grandkids will need to pay back
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has finally answered the burning question: will Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s budget balance itself? The answer: yes, it will – but not for another almost 50 years. According to data published by the PBO, under status quo policies the federal government will balance its budget again in the year 2070. By…
Ottawa’s public service has swelled by roughly 10,000 bureaucrats per year under Trudeau
COVID-19 has shone a light on a fundamental divide within Canada: the growing government bureaucracy and those forced to pay for it. This contrast is illustrated by Statistics Canada’s latest jobs report. The private sector, including the self-employed, has shed 520,400 jobs since COVID-19 hit us, while the number of government jobs across the country…
We have to start demanding that politicians start making some tough choices
Fifty-seven thousand dollars. That’s the average amount each Canadian will owe in provincial and federal government debt by the end of the year. It’s not just the rich or big corporations that will be mopping up this budget mess if politicians don’t take some air out of their bloated budgets. Politicians are already starting to…
Even the National Police Federation, Canada’s largest police union, believes the buyback will do little to curb criminality
By Franco Terrazzano and Kevin Lacey Canadian Taxpayers Federation Here we go again. Ottawa’s budget watchdog is on the trail of another big taxpayer boondoggle in the making with the federal government’s latest gun policy. First, a Liberal government introduced the gun registry in the 1990s. That was supposed to cost $2 million, but, by…