Prime minister challenged on tax plan, electoral reform
Trudeau takes questions at town hall meeting at UBCO
You can’t give tax advantages and benefits to the wealthiest and expect that will work for everyone.
Justin Trudeau
Tax reform, small businesses and electoral reform were among the topics Kelowna residents raised with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a town hall meeting Wednesday night at UBC Okanagan.
Trudeau, who is in town for a federal Liberal caucus meeting, took questions from 11 people during a one-hour question-andanswer session at the UBCO gymnasium. The gym, which holds 2,000 people, was filled to capacity.
The first question came from a woman concerned about the federal government’s proposed tax changes (explained in the adjacent story on this page).
“You speak of closing the tax loopholes that only benefit the wealthy and undeserving smallbusiness owners, but these are not the only people your legislative tax reform will catch,” she said. “It also catches thousands of hard-working, honest, tax-paying Canadians, citizens who believe in the Canadian principle that hard work is the road to success.”
Trudeau responded by saying the tax system that was in place when his government came into office was disproportionately advantageous for the wealthiest Canadians.
“You can’t give tax advantages and benefits to the wealthiest and expect that will work for everyone,” he said. “There is nothing in these proposals that is targeting small middle-class businesses. We are very much focused on supporting small businesses, supporting Canadians who work hard and asking the wealthiest Canadians to pay a little more.”
One man raised concerns about the current electoral system, asking Trudeau about proportional representation.
“In my riding, my member of Parliament represents less than half of his populace,” he said. “When will our electorate system grant every Canadian a political voice?”
Trudeau said while he has always been a proponent of a proportional representation system involving the ranking of political candidates, it no longer appears to be a viable option.
“Unfortunately, it became fairly clear that there was no consensus around the type of electoral reform that was needed,” he said.
While the current system is flawed, it also has its strengths, said Trudeau.
“You’re never going to be able to get a Parliament that represents every single little difference . . . amongst Canadians,” he said. “What our system obliges us to do is to pick someone who will represent multiple communities, multiple perspectives. Every MP . . . has to reach out to diverse communities, and that . . . is something that strengthens our democracy in significant ways.”
Liberal caucus members will be greeted by protesters with a variety of messages today in Kelowna.
The Council of Canadians, LEAD Now and the Canadian Labour Congress are organizing a rally in front of the Delta Grand hotel from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The federal Liberal caucus is meeting at the Grand.
Two of the big issues people will be marching about are pharmacare and NAFTA talks.
The CLC has launched a campaign urging the federal government to bring in a universal pharmacare program to pay for people’s prescription drugs.
LEAD Now and the Council of Canadians will urge the government to remove “toxic corporate rights” from the North American Free Trade Agreement, now being renegotiated. In particular, the groups oppose rules that allow companies to sue governments when they believe new laws have affected their ability to make a profit.