Trudeau and fairness

If you were to be hoist with your own petard, you would be in trouble. The expression, popularized in large part by Shakespeare in Hamlet, means “to cause the bomb maker to be blown up with his own bomb,” a petard being an ancient form of explosive shell used to breach fortifications.

Figuratively, that is what is happening to Justin Trudeau with a Toronto Star/CBC investigation revealing two generations of Liberal fundraisers are linked in a complicated tax haven that saw $60 million US protected from Canadian tax collectors. Even though the use of offshore tax havens by Canada’s ultra-wealthy is widespread and entirely legal, Trudeau and his government must be smarting today. Why?

Because the Liberals promised to be different. Shortly after he was elected prime minister, Trudeau said: “Our government has long known — indeed we got elected — on a promise to make sure that people were paying their fair share of taxes. Tax avoidance, tax evasion is something we take very seriously.”

In fairness, Trudeau’s government is working at cracking down on tax evasion. But consider this from an ethical and economic perspective. Estimates are that Canada loses $6 billion to $7.8 billion to offshore activity every year. What kind of difference would that money make in the lives of Canadians? Can it honestly be said that the ultra-wealthy are paying their fair share?

That’s really the question. And it really is about “tax fairness.” But it might be a little more fairness than this government — like others before it — is prepared to commit to, given whose toes they would need to step on.