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Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse

Bringing about a higher level of transparency and accountability in provincial and federal governments to help protect taxpayers from abuse.

Tory leadership hopeful would lower income taxes, drop some tax credits

Conservative leadership candidate Maxime Bernier wants to eliminate some of the boutique tax credits favoured by former prime minister Stephen Harper to help cover the cost of cutting income taxes for a majority of Canadians.

“I prefer to have a tax system that would be fair for everybody,” the Quebec MP said at a news conference Thursday as he unveiled his plan for income tax reform.

“I don’t want the government to choose winners and losers,” he said.

Bernier is promising a more-straightforward income tax plan that would mean anyone who makes between $15,000 and $100,000 a year would be taxed at a rate of 15 per cent.

Anyone who earns below $15,000 a year would not pay any federal income taxes and anyone who makes more than $100,000 would be taxed at 25 per cent.

That would bring the number of income tax brackets down to two from five.

Right now, the current personal exemption is set at $11,474, the lowest tax rate is 15 per cent for earnings up to $45,282 and the highest is 33 per cent for anyone whose annual income exceeds $200,000.

Bernier said his proposed change, inspired by reforms brought in during the 1980s by former Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, would make the tax system fairer, easier to understand and less expensive to manage and enforce.

Source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-news/tory-leadership-hopeful-would-also-drop-some-boutique-tax-credits/

Carbon tax divides nation: Trudeau announcement sparks walkouts, ultimatums

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took to his feet in the House of Commons earlier this week to announce a national carbon tax that will force provinces to put a minimum price on carbon or set up a cap and trade system to tax emissions.

Designed to address climate change and ensure all regions of the country are paying for their greenhouse gas emissions, the announcement sparked walkouts from a climate meeting in Montreal, demands for pipeline quid pro quo, as well as a number of endorsements and shows of support.

The federal plan calls for a $10-per-tonne floor price starting in 2018, eventually rising to $50 a tonne in 2022—two-thirds higher than what Alberta’s price will be in 2018. Trudeau said the federal government will implement a price in any province or territory that doesn’t have either a carbon price or a cap-and-trade system in place by 2018.

Immediately after the announcement, which Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall called a “betrayal,” the prairie province, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Alberta had all but joined the opposing camp.

Source: http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/regulation/carbon-tax-divides-nation-trudeau-announcement-sparks-applause-walkouts-and-ultimatums-176805/

Canadian health care is even more restrictive than communist China’s

Several weeks ago I had coffee with a board member of one of British Columbia’s regional health authorities. In the course of our conversation, I mentioned the ongoing constitutional challenge to B.C.’s restrictions on patient access to private health care.

The nub of the plaintiffs’ case is that, if the government is not able to provide timely medical treatment to persons suffering on long waiting lists, it cannot at the same time legally prohibit these patients from taking control of the their own health and arranging for private treatment within the province.

It’s a straightforward question rooted in the Charter rights to life, liberty and security of the person: what right does the state have to control the choices we make about our bodies, particularly when we are suffering acute physical pain, mental distress, and financial hardship as a result of injuries or illnesses?

My coffee companion said the case reminded him of a recent visit he’d had from a delegation of Chinese government officials interested in learning about Canada’s health care system.

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2016/10/06/canadian-health-care-is-even-more-restrictive-than-communist-chinas

Canada’s dependence on housing looks a lot like the U.S. in 2005

Canada’s dependence on housing appears to be as stretched as it was in the U.S back in 2005, and the degree to which new mortgages rely on risky borrowers is equally as troubling, a new report warns.

David, Doyle, Canadian economist and strategist at Macquarie Capital Markets, tracked residential investments as a share of GDP in both countries. He found that the standard deviation from the long- term average in Canada from 2001 to 2006, is similar to what took place in the U.S between 1991 and 2006.

Based on this analysis, Canada is poised for a sharp downturn if it continues to track the U.S.

Doyle noted that the surge in Canadian residential investment has been driven by broker commissions and transfer costs, much like the U.S. market as it approached a late-2005 peak.

He also highlighted the rising share of mortgages with loan-to-income ratios above 450 per cent, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver

Source: http://business.financialpost.com/investing/trading-desk/canadas-dependence-on-housing-looks-a-lot-like-the-u-s-in-2005?__lsa=0d5b-836b

Quebec promises to abolish health care accessory fees by early 2017

On Sept. 14, Quebec Minister of Health Dr. Gaetan Barrette announced that as of January 2017, Quebec doctors will no longer be allowed to charge accessory fees—additional fees on services already provided by the Quebec health insurance.Accessory fees have generally been charged for services such as eye drops, injections, and stitches. According to Barrette, these fees sum up to approximately $83 million dollars in charges per year, guaranteeing a large profit margin for physicians who pay less than one-seventh of that cost to provide these services.

Source: Quebec promises to abolish health care accessory fees by early 2017 | The McGill Tribune

Ottawa mother loses thousands in child benefits thanks to CRA error 

An Ottawa woman who discovered she’s owed thousands of dollars in child tax benefits she never received because of an error the Canada Revenue Agency made a decade ago has been told not to expect to recoup the full amount — even though CRA has admitted its mistake, and someone else apparently pocketed the money.Nicole Davoudi, a single mother of two teenage daughters, first applied for the Canada child tax benefit in 2006. She was also receiving the universal child care benefit (which was combined with the child tax benefit to form the Canada child benefit in July 2016). The tax-free benefits are intended to help families with the cost of raising children under 18.

Source: Ottawa mother loses thousands in child benefits thanks to CRA error – Ottawa – CBC News

Health Canada Looks to Raise the Bar for Regulating Natural Health Products 

A controversial new proposal from Health Canada would add new regulatory scrutiny for natural health products and bring them in line with higher scientific standards used to regulate over-the-counter drugs.The proposal, unveiled in late September, would cover the three buckets of health products and group them together as part of new regulations for “self-care products,” which is part of the regulator’s wider effort to refocus the approval of health claims based on scientific proof.

Source: Health Canada Looks to Raise the Bar for Regulating Natural Health Products | RAPS

Legal experts defend mental health laws after Jeff Weber ruling 

A case involving a 32-year-old Ottawa man with treatment-resistant schizophrenia who was found not criminally responsible on Thursday for a brutal hammer attack is raising questions about the law and the mental health system. The ruling marked the fourth time Jeff Weber has been declared NCR — believed to be a Canadian record.

Source: Legal experts defend mental health laws after Jeff Weber ruling – Ottawa – CBC News