Trudeau targets income inequality, covets chill time with family, friends
Justin Trudeau says paying taxes and caring for each other is part of our responsibility as Canadians.
In a speech on the state of the Canadian Confederation in Charlottetown, the prime minister targeted offshore tax evasion and rising income inequality.
Over the past three decades, he says most Canadians saw their incomes grow by less than one per cent a year in real terms, while the wealthiest saw their incomes nearly triple.
He says conversations about money can be uncomfortable, but he says it’s unfair parents are forced to decide whether they can afford winter boots for their children while the CEO at their company gets a million-dollar bonus.
He says business leaders bear some responsibility for rising income disparity and need to start looking beyond the short-term interests of shareholders to the longterm responsibility they have to workers and the communities that support them. He says Ottawa has committed almost $1-billion to investigate offshore tax havens.
Trudeau pointed to a Prince Edward Island couple that help clear the snow for their neighbours every winter, and says being there for each other and helping neighbours is the Canadian way.
He was presented with a Symons Medal for his contribution to Canadian life, at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown.
He held a question-and-answer session following his lecture, in which he touched on carbon reduction and the environment, LGBT rights, expectations for newcomers to Canada and North Korea’s nuclear weapons development.
Earlier in the day, Trudeau touched on more lighthearted topics, such as not being able to pop into a Canadian Tire for a screwdriver or grab a double-double at Tim Hortons without “causing a bit of a kerfuffle.”
He said he stays grounded by “finding moments where I can just hang out with friends and be chill,” including shooting pool. And said “like in any good marriage” his wife decides the television shows they watch together. Lately “Outlander” on Netflix and the new season of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
He’ll be at the Grey Cup Sunday with his family. “Unfortunately, my beloved Alouettes aren’t in it.
But he hopes for “a great game. I hope for a really close game.”