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The Niagara Independent, February 5, 2021\u00a0 \u2013 “<\/em>Our government has put a price on pollution across the country, a carbon price. We fought the 2019 election on that decision, and we were re-elected. We really believe we do have a national mandate to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Chrystia Freeland, Canada\u2019s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, made this comment while participating as a panelist discussing \u201cImplementing Stakeholder Capitalism\u201d at the World Economic Forum\u2019s (WEF) annual Davos summit.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Davos summit featured presentations and closed door meetings to discuss the WEF\u2019s Great Reset Initiative. Political and corporate globalists are implementing a plan that takes advantage of economic disruption caused by the coronavirus in order to redesign capitalism, advance an international green agenda, and establish a new global order governed by the United Nations.<\/p>\n Both Minister Freeland and federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu were active participants in this year\u2019s Davos meetings \u2013 and Minister Freeland attended public and closed-door sessions.\u00a0 It is unclear whether Freeland was wearing one or both of her official hats as a lead minister in the Canadian Government and as a board trustee of the WEF.\u00a0(More on Freeland\u2019s role with the WEF in next week\u2019s column.)<\/em><\/p>\n In her comments about advancing stakeholder capitalism in Canada, Freeland explained that her government has successfully established a green agenda in Canada, citing that it is an \u201cambitious plan\u201d that will exceed the 2030 targets set by the Paris Accord. She referenced job creation opportunities with government programs that will retrofit buildings, build electric car charging ports, and plant trees. Freeland said, \u201cThese are three concrete examples of how Canada intends to build a green agenda into a recovery and jobs agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n The Canadian Finance Minister waxed on about green initiatives that will create employment. She failed to mention that the government\u2019s green agenda depends directly on increased taxes, government subsidized programs and, in order to meet the country\u2019s carbon emission targets, the gutting of Canada\u2019s natural resource industries.<\/p>\n On increased taxes, the Trudeau Government was the only government in the world that increased taxes during the pandemic crisis and, now as a result of its Fall Economic Update, Canadians are facing significant carbon tax hikes in 2021 and 2022 that will raise costs on literally everything. Canadians must now brace for a three-prong carbon tax program: 1) scheduled carbon tax hikes that will add a further 53 cents of tax per litre at the pump; 2) a new Clean Fuel Standard carbon tax on the country\u2019s business community that will add hundreds of dollars to a person\u2019s annual heating and driving costs; and 3) multiple green measures and subsidy programs that are estimated to cost Canadians $15 billion in the short term.<\/p>\n Dan McTeague, president of Canadians for Affordable Energy \u2013 a former Liberal MP \u2013 stated the hikes in carbon taxes are \u201cextremely cruel\u201d and assessed the government\u2019s green agenda as a \u201creal mess.\u201d McTeague observed in a recent Blacklock\u2019s Reporter interview, \u201cI have been in government and I have never seen a government inflict this kind of cost on consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n Aaron Wudrick of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation also says that it is dishonest for Minister Freeland to suggest the Liberals were given an electoral mandate to hike carbon tax. Neither the government\u2019s \u201caggressive\u201d green agenda nor its scheduled tax increases were part of the 2019 Liberal campaign narrative. In hearing Freeland\u2019s comments at the WEF event, Wudrick tweeted: \u201cFought the election on it? They explicitly said they weren\u2019t going to increase it, then after the election announced an increase.\u201d<\/p>\n As she prepares the government\u2019s budget documents, Finance Minister Freeland must reconcile the government\u2019s green agenda and drive to implement an economic reset with a budget that will springboard the Liberals into a Spring election. She has found the country\u2019s debt and the unbridled government spending (one trillion dollars in 2020!) are problematic for introducing new green initiatives. Canada has the largest federal deficit in the world at 19.8 per cent of the country\u2019s GDP. The Trudeau Government is the global leader in government spending with a fiscal plan that will result in the federal debt doubling to $1.4 trillion in the next five years.<\/p>\n So, even with the hikes in carbon tax, Freeland will need to find new sources of revenue. In recent public statements on the country\u2019s economic condition, Freeland has mused about finding ways to tap into Canadians\u2019 savings accounts. Finance Canada has been floating a series of trial balloons introducing new taxes: a wealth tax on high income earners, increased the capital gains rate, a new capital gains tax on the sale of primary residents, and an inheritance tax.<\/p>\n These suggestions have been met with criticism from taxpayer and business groups that claim the imposition of new taxes will slow down the country\u2019s economic recovery. One illustrative criticism came from Jasmine Moulton of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation who factored the government\u2019s suggested wealth tax would pay for only three days of Ottawa\u2019s spending. Respecting capital gains tax, the Fraser Institute argues any increase will negatively impact investment and entrepreneurship and would prove to be \u201ceconomically damaging.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet Chrystia Freeland has been shuffled into Finance Canada to find a way to pay for the Liberals green agenda and the Trudeau Government\u2019s reset plan. Furthermore, the globalist Michael Sabia was parachuted in as Finance Department\u2019s Deputy Minister.\u00a0Financial Post\u00a0<\/em>columnist Terence Corcoran surmises that the tandem of Freeland and Sabia points to increased government interventionism \u2013 the WEF\u2019s \u201cstakeholder capitalism.\u201d Corcoran states, \u201cUnder the new capitalism, corporate economic freedom is replaced by corporatist economic controls.\u201d<\/p>\n As a final note respecting Canada\u2019s deteriorating financial state, Finance Minister Freeland recently tabled in Parliament a borrowing authority legislation that will raise the government\u2019s debt ceiling 56 percent \u2013 more than $660 million to $1.831 trillion. Truly remarkable figures. Freeland reports that last year the government borrowed at the rate of a billion dollars a day. She predicts in 2021 that there will be \u201cuncertainty with regards to government spending.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Minister Freeland is looking to spend even more to establish the Government\u2019s green agenda and implement its reset plan \u2013 and Canadians can expect increased taxes to pay for it.<\/p>\n Chris George<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of\u00a0CG&A COMMUNICATIONS<\/a>. Contact:\u00a0ChrisG.George@gmail.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n