Posts Tagged ‘tax’
Why simplifying Canada’s tax code is about social trust, not just saving money
Saturday, August 22nd, 2026
Economic researchers at the University of Calgary have developed a framework to evaluate what happens when a government undertakes a tax reform, and they are taking a broad view of the social returns of tax… “Administrative reform can enhance fairness and trust, but if designed or evaluated narrowly through cost and yield metrics, it can deepen distributional inequities and erode public confidence”… The first plank is measuring the social return per administrative dollar spent…
Tags: budget, economy, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 16 Comments »
Canada’s oil giants are cashing in on conflict. Consumers are paying the price
Sunday, August 9th, 2026
It is neither inevitable nor reasonable that one industry should profit so obscenely from a war that is killing thousands, dislocating millions, and undermining the livings standards of billions. This situation reflects a deliberate policy choice: to give a few corporations power to charge whatever the market will bear for an essential commodity, regardless of cost of production or harm to society.
Tags: economy, featured, privatization, standard of living, tax
Posted in Debates | 5 Comments »
While youth struggle, Canada is giving billions to its wealthiest demographic
Sunday, June 14th, 2026
The juxtaposition between generous benefits for wealthy seniors and stringent, insufficient benefits for struggling young families makes it clear the federal government urgently needs to reduce and rebalance its books as the national debt is expected to surpass $3 trillion over the next five years… Meaningful reforms need to consider… reimagining retirement savings vehicles, plans, and employer incentives to give younger workers solid ground to build financially secure futures upon.
Tags: economy, featured, pensions, Seniors, standard of living, tax, youth
Posted in Equality Policy Context | 130 Comments »
Debt by design: OSAP and the political economy of student aid in Canada
Tuesday, May 26th, 2026
… students in Ontario are being asked to shoulder a growing share of the cost of post-secondary education. While these changes may appear exceptional, they are not. Instead, they reflect a broader transformation in how post-secondary education is funded across Canada, where the costs have steadily shifted from the public to the individual… restoring OSAP alone will not make post-secondary education truly affordable. That requires a broader commitment to public investment, and in turn, that means raising the province’s revenue.
Tags: budget, Education, ideology, jurisdiction, participation, tax, youth
Posted in Education Policy Context | 134 Comments »
I’m giving the CRA an extra $1 million this year. Here’s why
Thursday, April 30th, 2026
Patriotic Millionaires recently commissioned new polling that found among Canadians with more than $1 million in assets (not including their homes), 71 per cent believe extreme wealth concentration is a threat to democracy, 62 per cent believe government leaders should do more to address it, and 65 per cent believe that governments should raise taxes on the very wealthy. .. Extreme wealth inequality is not inevitable. It’s the result of policy choices, and we can choose differently.
Tags: economy, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
How Ottawa’s ‘cruel’ process keeps the majority of Canadians with disability from getting the Disability Tax Credit
Monday, April 27th, 2026
To qualify, a person with disabilities has to be certified through the DTC system… The eligibility criteria are narrow and exclude episodic disabilities and mental health. The certification process is costly and cumbersome, requiring the stamp of approval of a medical practitioner. Women, people with mental-health and episodic disabilities, and those with low income are routinely squeezed out.
Tags: disabilities, participation, standard of living, tax
Posted in Inclusion Delivery System | 6 Comments »
Young Canadians are increasingly miserable. Government priorities show why
Saturday, April 4th, 2026
Governments have not matched the rise in spending on boomers with new revenue from that generation, which leaves too little to invest in affordable housing, education, training and family supports for their offspring… It’s about restoring fiscal balance so every generation can thrive.
Tags: economy, Seniors, standard of living, tax, youth
Posted in Equality Debates | 15 Comments »
The 2026 Ontario budget neglects core provincial responsibilities
Monday, March 30th, 2026
The 2026 budget—much like previous budgets—fails to address the underfunding of health care, K-12 education, post-secondary education, community and social services, and rental and social housing—the core responsibilities of provincial governments. Despite reports showing that Ontario lags behind most provinces in most of these areas, this year’s budget makes no attempt to close those gaps.
Tags: budget, Education, featured, Health, housing, ideology, jurisdiction, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | 10 Comments »
A small group of Canadians are living it up. The rest of us are struggling. Welcome to the K-shaped economy
Saturday, March 28th, 2026
… Between [1999] and 2023, the top 10 per cent of wealthiest households in Canada have seen their net worth surge by 195 per cent. The bottom 10 per cent… has seen its wealth contract outright, by 43 per cent… We need to get a better grip on how wealth grows, who owns it, where it’s stored and where it’s hidden… And the potentially toxic social effects of such a disparity in possibility continue to fester.
Tags: economy, featured, ideology, participation, poverty, standard of living, tax
Posted in Equality Debates | No Comments »
Protected from voters’ wrath, Doug Ford’s latest budget defies fiscal reality
Friday, March 27th, 2026
Ford’s Tories have slashed traditional revenue sources by billions of dollars in good times — licence plate fees, gas taxes and tolls for drivers — only to drive the government deeper into deficit and debt… In the latest budget, those interest payments are now the Ford government’s fourth-biggest expenditure — after health care (41 per cent), education (16.7 per cent) and social services (8.8 per cent)…
Tags: budget, economy, ideology, jurisdiction, tax
Posted in Governance Debates | No Comments »
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