In Canada between 2011 and 2018 the fossil fuel industry was one of the most active industry groups lobbying the federal government with over six contacts per working day made with government officials. During this period, the intensity of lobbying increased when salient policy issues—like the Environmental Assessment Act—arose or when there were big stakes for industry such as major pipeline decisions and approvals.
Corporations and corporate power
(VANCOUVER) Over 60 per cent of voters in the recent federal election cast ballots for parties that campaigned to take action on the climate emergency. And, with the Liberal party returning to government having committed to more aggressively fight climate change, a new report suggests that the influence of the fossil fuel lobby may not bode well for the future of Canadian climate policy.
Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and other tax-avoiding internet giants were in the news a lot this summer. Much of the credit for this can go to Emmanuel Macron. Despite pushback from big tech and U.S. President Donald Trump, the French president announced plans at this year’s G7 summit to introduce a 3% tax on digital revenues. Trump only backed down after Macron agreed to pay back some of these revenues once the OECD reaches a new agreement for taxing digital giants over the next year.
U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez provoked a lot of hostile—and positive—reaction earlier this year when she proposed the United States should introduce a top tax rate of 70% on incomes over $10 million, with revenues going to pay for a Green New Deal. Although many on the right belittled her idea, it was in fact firmly based on the historical record.
Wealth taxation is back on the progressive political agenda. It is both a refreshing new idea and a return to vogue of a policy established decade ago in Europe. Some remember it as part of François Mitterrand’s 110 propositions pour France, a joint electoral platform in 1981 with the Communist Party that carried him into the Élysée Palace. The solidarity tax on wealth survived multiple right-wing presidents, only to fall recently to President Macron.
We are living with vast discrepancies between rich and poor in Canada. That much is undeniable. According to the Broadbent Institute, 10% of Canadians held almost half (47.9%) of all wealth in 2012. Meanwhile, around one in seven people (about 14%) live in poverty, according to Canada Without Poverty. The gap between those with and without wealth is stark.
Mining enjoys massive government support in Canada. Politically, it’s treated as a preferred development option for remote communities and Indigenous peoples. Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall once said, “The best program for First Nations and Métis people in Saskatchewan is not a program at all—it's [uranium mining company] Cameco.” The law backs this up.
Canada is one of the biggest extractive sector players in the world. We are home to approximately 60% of the world’s mining companies, and the Toronto Stock Exchange and Venture Exchange host more oil and gas companies than any other exchange in the world. Collectively, these companies have interests in over 100 countries.
Échec aux paradis fiscaux was founded in 2011 by a small group of unions and civil society organizations fed up with how easily corporations and high-wealth individuals avoid paying taxes. Slowly, the coalition has grown to the point that today, nearly all Québec’s unions are members, alongside a great number of other groups and two national student associations.