Like many Canadians, my daily walks have become one of the highlights of my day since the start of COVID. I have a regular route that takes me through my neighbourhood, offers some beautiful views, and even a small section of woods where I’ve tried to make friends with a pileated woodpecker.
In April or May, not far from that lovely reprieve from car fumes, I saw a sign bound to a pole. It offered residents a number to call if they were worried about being evicted. The first time I saw it, my eyes welled with tears. How could there be people in my neighbourhood who have to worry about this right now? Where would they go if evicted? How would they stay safe? What services would they access in the middle of the biggest pandemic in a century?
Then the businesses in my neighbourhood started shuttering their doors. The Korean restaurant that was always so accommodating with my young son. The independent dollar store. An ice cream shop. The list goes on and on and on.
So, when Peter Julian of the NDP introduced legislation on the House floor to implement a 1% tax on wealth of over $20 million, I was thrilled. We have seen Canadian billionaires increase their wealth by over $37 billion since the pandemic started, and those at the bottom have lost jobs or put themselves in danger to ensure that Canadians can put food on the table.
The vote was decisive: 292-27 against. I was devastated. How could the Liberal Party of Canada, which has presented itself as on the side of working people, allow my friends and neighbours to suffer while the wealthiest enrich themselves?
I wrote to my MP, Anthony Housefather, to share my thoughts and to ask why he had voted against something that is not only widely popular, but that seems like such simple common sense.
His response was appreciated, but there was nothing in there to convince me that he was right. He talked about the programs in place to help ailing businesses, which I agree are laudable, but simply not enough. He also raised our income tax structure and the fear that taxing wealth would drive people to shelter their wealth offshore, instead of proposing to address tax evasion while making our fiscal system more fair.
I was left feeling unsatisfied. Like so many people, I see this moment as an opportunity. We are at a tipping point. The climate crisis is bearing down on us. Wealth disparities continue to widen. Social injustice is being laid bare daily.
A wealth tax would have been one stone in a citadel to protect us from the dangers that lie in wait. The $5.6 billion that could have been generated annually would help build a Green and Just Recovery.
That this has been a challenging time is undeniable. Allowing this moment of collective sacrifice to pass by without creating something better than what we had before is appalling.
I am certain that if we join together and continue to put pressure on our elected officials about these issues, they will have to listen. Together, we can create a Green and Just Recovery.
