Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston put a stop to a pay hike for MLAs and cut his own salary. Now for Part 2
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston got a big hit for taxpayers by putting a stop to a pay hike for MLAs and cutting his own salary. Now Houston has an opportunity to convert his single into a home run by ending the automatic tax hikes associated with bracket creep. Last month, an independent panel created…
Taxpayers could get soaked with higher taxes and reckless government spending
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s promise to hand the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa more powers could be a dangerous gateway to higher taxes and runaway government spending. Hardworking taxpayers wouldn’t trust one person selected by someone else to unilaterally manage their household expenses and retirement savings. Yet, that’s essentially what Ford might have up his…
When you give bureaucrats an inch, they take a mile
Charlottetown taxpayers are being taken to the cleaners by out-of-control city officials and government bureaucrats. After years of abuse, it’s time for Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King to shine a light on this sorry saga. To understand the plight of Charlottetown taxpayers, consider this scenario. Imagine you’re at your favourite restaurant. Although inflation might…
Why has the premier shied away from delivering tax relief?
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is leaving the middle class behind. Until this year’s cost of living crisis, Higgs was one of the best premiers in the country when it came to managing his province’s finances. Unlike any other province, Higgs managed to keep New Brunswick’s books balanced throughout the pandemic. Thanks to Higgs’ prudence,…
The largest roster of overpaid politicians in the province’s history
Has your life become 63 per cent more complicated than it was four years ago? According to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, his life sure has. Late last month, Ford announced his picks for his new cabinet and parliamentary secretaries as he embarks on his second term as premier. Ford announced the largest roster of overpaid…
Politicians shouldn’t be wasting tax dollars on their political vanity project
Consider this: for every minute that Toronto and Vancouver host World Cup games, taxpayers will be on the hook for $644,000. Last week, Canadians learned that Toronto and Vancouver had been tapped to host five World Cup games each as part of North America’s bid for the 2026 World Cup. Politicians in both cities have…
Beware mission creep: today, promoting Canadian content; tomorrow, controlling how you think
Sign first; then we’ll discuss the details. Nobody would trust a real estate agent or used car dealership with that approach, but that’s how the Trudeau government is trying to sell its plan to regulate the internet. The government is trying to rush new censorship legislation through Parliament at lightning speed. Through Bill C-11, the…
It’s time for taxpayers to get out of the political party welfare business
Ontarians should listen for a giant sucking sound from Queen’s Park. Now that the election is over and MPPs know that they don’t have to directly answer to voters for another four years, you can bet that Ontario’s political parties will team up once again to funnel even more money from taxpayers’ wallets into party…
His fiscal record is no better than that of the Liberal government he replaced
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is surely celebrating his decisive re-election victory. But Ford should not be complacent. He was re-elected despite his record, not because of it. It’s worth remembering former premier Kathleen Wynne won re-election in 2014. She wrongly took her re-election as a go-ahead from voters to pursue her spend-happy agenda. But four…
The taxpayer-funded gravy train that just keeps on giving
If you don’t like the idea of burning piles of cash in your living room fireplace, the way political financing works in the province of Ontario will make your blood boil. With election day a week away, millions of Ontarians are being forced to watch political ads that make them want to stop paying their…
All three major party leaders are promising to run record-high deficits
When election day arrives, it appears as though Ontarians will have a choice in which poison pill to swallow: record deficits with Premier Doug Ford, Liberal leader Steven Del Duca, or NDP leader Andrea Horwath. It’s an unfortunate consensus: the three major party leaders are promising to run record-high deficits. But no matter what Ontario’s…
Its impact on the overall economy means everyone will suffer
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is eyeing a wealth tax to pay for his government’s spending spree. Heavily redacted documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation show Trudeau asked for an analysis of a $60-billion wealth tax. With indefinite deficits looming, it must be tempting to grab that cash. But a wealth tax would inflict economic…
No concrete plan to balance the books and no tax relief for middle-class families
There’s one bright spot in Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s budget. He announced plans to cut taxes for low-income Ontarians, saving over one million taxpayers up to $850 next year. This will serve as much-needed relief for taxpayers who badly need it in the wake of record-high inflation and soaring living costs. But that’s where the…
Ontarians need relief, and they need it urgently
Affordability is the elephant in the room as Ontario approaches this June’s provincial election, and it’s time for Ontario’s politicians to address it before they get trampled. All three of Ontario’s major political parties plan to speak to the issue of affordability in their platforms. The Ford government has been busy eliminating user fees for…
Ontarians need urgent action, not vague future promises
When Ontario Premier Doug Ford finally announced his intention to deliver on gas tax relief after four years of delays, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation supported the move. Make no mistake; a gas tax cut is good news for Ontario taxpayers. As gas prices soar and Ontarians face the highest inflation levels in 30 years, relief…
When it comes to wealth taxes, Trudeau needs to draw a line in the sand
Now that the years-long Liberal-NDP courtship has turned official, Canadians should brace themselves for an unwelcome raft of higher taxes and unsustainable spending. With Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inking a deal with the NDP to keep him in power until 2025, Canada’s finances are headed from bad to worse. To help justify overspending, the Trudeau…
Inflation rates haven’t been this high since Seinfeld first debuted on television
Would your family be better off with an extra $2,000 in your bank account this year? As Canada continues to face its highest inflation rates in over 30 years, not a single Ontarian would answer no. If Ontario Premier Doug Ford had kept his promises from the election platform he ran on four years ago,…
Alberta has reduced its gas taxes by 13 cents a litre
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is sitting on his hands while Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is delivering relief for taxpayers. Earlier this week, Kenney announced his government would cut provincial gas taxes by 13 cents per litre in the face of skyrocketing oil prices. For a family filling up their minivan, Kenney’s tax cut means nearly…
A win for taxpayers, but it just isn’t enough
License plate stickers in Ontario are destined for the ash heap of history, thanks to the Ford government’s commitment to repeal those pesky annual fees. Families are facing rampant inflation and soaring living costs. Premier Doug Ford’s announcement will save the typical two-car family $240 a year. It’s a good first step, and now the…
Caving on a wealth tax to appease the NDP would be a huge mistake
As the federal budget approaches, taxpayers are holding on to their wallets a little tighter. Even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared less than two years ago that “the last thing Canadians need is to see a rise in taxes,” the government will likely have to win the support of the NDP to get a…
If Ford is tempted to embark on a spending spree this spring, he should think twice
After 15 years of governments pursuing high spending, run-away deficits, and no meaningful tax relief, it’s time for Ontario Premier Doug Ford to think big. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy will present the Ford government’s pre-election budget next month, which gives his team a chance to set the spending tone as the province heads to a…
Taxes make up a third of the price at the pumps
The collective blood pressure of Ontario taxpayers surged recently as gas prices hit record levels across the province. In large part, hardworking taxpayers can blame the federal government for soaring costs. For the first time ever, gas prices in Ontario crossed the $1.50 per litre threshold. A family that took their minivan and sedan to…
With Bill C-11, the government is simply farming out its dirty work to the CRTC
Buried in a news cycle dominated by former Conservative leader Erin O’Toole’s sacking and honking truckers, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez unveiled the government’s replacement for Bill C-10. That bill died in a storm of controversy when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called last September’s election. At this moment of peak distraction, Rodriguez decided to revive it.…
A slap in the face to hardworking taxpayers across the province
Ontario has been experiencing a tale of two pandemics. One is a fairy tale for bureaucrats, and the other is a grim story for the rest of us. Bureaucrats working for the province and its major cities have been getting raises, while average Ontarians saw hour reductions, pay cuts, lost jobs, and shuttered small businesses.…
The contrast between how New Brunswick and Ontario handled the pandemic is stark
As Ontario Premier Doug Ford continues to drive the province speeding toward the edge of a gigantic debt cliff, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is showing taxpayers that governments can tap the brakes on spending while still dealing with a pandemic. The contrast between the two premiers is stark. As Ford adds tens of billions…
These three key accountability reforms a good place to start
With trust in government having declined significantly over the past two years, it’s well past time for politicians to try to regain the confidence of the people they’re supposed to represent. Three key accountability reforms would make major strides in that direction. It’s time to end taxpayer handouts for political parties, stop giving more generous…
Cut the gas excise tax and deliver meaningful savings to everyday Ontario families
The countdown is on to get a gas tax cut in the province of Ontario. Late last year, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would keep his promise to cut the provincial gas excise tax by 5.7 cents per litre, nearly four years after he first made the commitment to Ontario voters. After years of…
Using the pandemic as a weak excuse to justify raiding the treasury
If your wallet feels lighter, it’s not just because of the rising cost of living and inflation. Ontario’s political parties have teamed up to take $14 million out of taxpayers’ pockets this year, and they’re just getting started. Back in 2014, former premier Kathleen Wynne introduced the per-vote subsidy. Under Wynne’s plan, political parties would…
It’s time for Ford to lay out a plan to balance the provincial budget
In case Premier Doug Ford is one of those last-minute holiday shoppers who doesn’t like the mall, Ontario taxpayers have some stocking stuffer ideas the Ontario government needs to deliver. The best gift ideas are presents that Ford should be very familiar with since they were in his party’s 2018 election platform. After years of…
The government’s lack of due diligence another blow to Ford's credibility
Taxpayers have good reason to be frustrated with Premier Doug Ford’s handling of Ontario’s finances. The auditor general’s recent report shows just how cavalier the Ontario government has been in writing cheques from the taxpayer chequebook. The government of Ontario’s emergency pandemic response put thousands of businesses on the brink of bankruptcy, and thousands of…