NDP wants to redistribute 'excess' corporate profits to Canadians to ease inflation

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NDP wants to redistribute 'excess' corporate profits to Canadians to ease inflation NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he would leverage the supply and confidence deal with Liberals to push this solution

Article content NDP leader Jagmeet Singh says the Liberal government should respond to the rising inflation crisis by taxing excess corporate profits and redistributing the money directly to Canadians, with “ordinary families” receiving as much as $1,000.

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tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or NDP wants to redistribute 'excess' corporate profits to Canadians to ease inflation Back to video At a press conference on Tuesday, Singh said: “We see clearly that corporations are making these massive profits, they’re making record-setting profits, and their record-setting profits are directly contributing to the cost of living going up.” If companies were just increasing their prices to meet rising costs “then their profits would be similar to previous years. But they’re not,” Singh said. The government needs to take action, he argued, pointing to a Food Banks Canada survey released Monday that showed nearly a quarter of Canadians reported eating less than they believe they should because they didn’t have enough money for food. The group warned this summer is expected to be the toughest the food banks have seen in decades.

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Article content More On This Topic The nightmare of inflation was made worse in Ottawa: Full Comment with Anthony Furey 10/3 podcast: How is inflation hitting people's day-to-day lives in Canada? Rex Murphy: A compassionate government would kill its carbon tax right now Singh said it’s the responsibility of government to “step in and say if you’re making excess profits off the backs of people in a difficult time, when people can’t afford to eat, then you have to start paying your fair share.” He said re-distributing those profits to Canadians by providing “up to $500 to $1,000 into pockets of families who need it… is going to help folks right now who are struggling with their groceries.” The Liberal government already agreed to an NDP proposal to tax banks that made strong profits during the pandemic as part of the supply and confidence agreement between the two parties signed in March.

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Article content “We’re saying expand that to the other sectors that are making excess profits, particularly the big box stores and oil and gas companies,” Singh said. Overall, the corporate sector in Canada is experiencing some of the highest profits they've ever seen Jagmeet Singh He noted that, “overall, the corporate sector in Canada is experiencing some of the highest profits they’ve ever seen.” Singh said record corporate profits are contributing at least a quarter of the inflation Canada is currently experiencing, an argument previously made by David Macdonald, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Singh also pointed to the United Kingdom, which has announced a 25 per cent “windfall tax” on oil and gas companies. The party is proposing increasing the Canada Child Benefit by $500 and doubling the GST tax credit, which Singh said would help about 12.5 million Canadians. He said the NDP is open to different models of taxing excess profit, with one option to double the corporate tax rate on profits that exceed previous years’ normal range. “What we want to see is a commitment to acknowledge, first of all, that there’s this massive windfall…. that is above and beyond the increased costs,” he said. Asked how the supply agreement with the Liberals would factor into this request, Singh said “we’re going to use our position to continue to raise this solution.” He accused the Liberals and Conservatives of not having the “courage” to go after excess corporate profits. “Neither of them are willing to look at this as a solution,” Singh said.

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