Tim Lang

Lucky Husband, Proud Dad, and serial propagator of bad puns and dad jokes! Opinions are my own.

[Ben Woodfinden @BenWoodfinden]

The decision is 32 pages long and is the best written decision I've ever read, and not just because I agree with it (though sure that plays a role).

Genuinely encourage everyone to read it, whether or not you live in Toronto or care about bike lanes:

https://t.co/KCcx9CDWAa

[Ben Woodfinden @BenWoodfinden]

From the decision today:

"Now, courts learn a great deal about a matter in the course of judicial review proceedings, and judges may be tempted to comment on matters of policy. The temptation to do so may be great; judges may suppose that they have much to offer to public policy debate. But the temptation must be resisted. It is not just that courts have no expertise in policy making – no expertise in making the sorts of polycentric decisions that legislatures make routinely. It is illegitimate for courts to involve themselves in matters of legislative policy. Policy is for politics. Whether courts think legislation is wise or unwise, is irrelevant so far as its constitutionality is concerned, and constitutionality is the only question with which courts are legitimately concerned"

[Aaron Pete @Aaronpete_]

As a First Nations Chief, I wear a suit.

I was a child growing up that had pants with rips in them, shirts with stains, and shoes that had such thin soles that when it rained I absorbed water like a sponge.

In university, I wore hoodies and sweatpants, and acted like a high school kid for half of my undergraduate degree.

Then I started working in the court system. A serious place, where my clients were looking at prison time.

It was there I realized that the robes the judges wear, the suits lawyers wear, weren’t for their ego, for their sense of decorum, it was out of respect for the victims, accused, families and the overall community.

I took that lesson with me. My nation must see me as a leader, hold me accountable as a leader, and know that they placed me in a position of power - and I owe certain duties because of that.

The suit, the tie, the dress shirt isn’t for the benefit of the one who wears it in my view. It’s a sign of respect to the people who see it. It’s a statement that the person who wears the suit will be professional, respectful, and dutiful.

Of course not every person who wears the suit does that. But I wear mine, out of respect for the audience, respect for my members and respect for the role I play in governance.

I agree with @harrisonlowman - we need to make this all more common.

[Martin Pelletier @MPelletierCIO]

TD report on CANADA's BRAIN DRAIN is really interesting.

Canada is quietly losing its top talent to the United States in what economists call a silent brain drain. While Canada does a strong job educating highly skilled workers in STEM, engineering, and entrepreneurship, it struggles to keep them due to higher taxes that kick in at much lower income levels, limited opportunities to scale companies, weaker commercialization of ideas, and much better pay and growth potential south of the border.
-> Talent leaves mainly through temporary US work visas rather than permanent moves
-> Outflows are heavily concentrated among the highest skilled, especially in tech and advanced degrees
-> Onward migration is worst among immigrants and top university graduates
-> Canada has a missing middle of medium sized firms, relying instead on many tiny businesses and a few large ones
-> Personal tax rates often exceed 50 percent in major provinces and apply at much lower thresholds than in the US
-> Complex corporate tax rules push entrepreneurs toward tax planning instead of growth

All of this weakens productivity, innovation, and domestic returns on education, making Canada a feeder system for the US economy
REPORT: https://t.co/fA0VzaJDSm

[Tim Lang @tlang_BC]

@Aaronpete_ Congratulations! 🥂🎉

[Tim Lang @tlang_BC]

@richardzussman Thank for you an amazing run of dependable, trustworthy and professional reporting. A real loss for the public who have come to depend on your stellar reporting. I hope you have something even more awesome planned for the future. Thanks Richard!

[Tim Lang @tlang_BC]

@BradWestPoCo Exactly.

[Brad West @BradWestPoCo]

Was talking to someone with a lot of front-line, real world experience in this, and he points out that - in addition to deterrence and accountability being too absent in our system - decisions like charging an Ontario man for defending himself when a repeat criminal broke into HIS home armed with a crossbow show you how upside down this has gotten.

[Tim Lang @tlang_BC]

When you finally find 8 parking spots together at @yvrairport! ✈️

Reserved for @AirCanada frequent fliers only!

[Tim Lang @tlang_BC]

Great article from Port Coquitlam mayor @BradWestPoCo 🎯

[Brad West @BradWestPoCo]

The strong reaction to this led me to write a full length commentary: https://t.co/t6a1rtvo9n
Thank you to @scoopercooper & The Bureau for providing me the space.

Read, share and let me know your thoughts.

[Katie Simpson @Katie___Simpson]

NEW: CLARITY FOR CANADA - from the White House:

[Mario Canseco @mario_canseco]

More than seven-in-ten British Columbians (72%) say the post-October 7, 2023, rallies go against Canadian values and should not be allowed.
https://t.co/sJQCiquAOv

[Spencer Hakimian @SpencerHakimian]

On a per capita basis, the U.S. imports ~$1,200/year per person from Canada.

On a per capita basis, Canada imports ~$7,300/year per person from the U.S.

Ironically, Canada is one of our best trading partners in the world.

They pull well above their weight.

And they send us very discounted heavy crude, which we can’t produce at scale.

Wrong country to pick this fight with.

Focus back on China.

[Geraldo Rivera @GeraldoRivera]

I love Canada, but don’t want them absorbed into the USA, nor do they want to be. How did this even become a thing? It is just bombast, rhetorical bullshit, chauvinistic chest beating. Let’s go back to the way it was, Canada is Canada and the USA is the USA.
See you on the ice.

[Spencer Hakimian @SpencerHakimian]

I don’t know what Donald personally has against Canada, but it is totally insane to go to war with our closest ally over a completely imaginary grievance.

[Tablesalt 🇨🇦🇺🇸 @Tablesalt13]

Finally

An American that gets it! Ben is actually thinking strategically.

Listen:

[Paul Vieira @paulvieira]

CEO of @BMO, Darryl White: Canada is "uncompetitive on tax, on regulation and on tone... The country is held back by a range of issues that a trade war would exacerbate." https://t.co/hY3zDop23w

[Pierre Poilievre @PierrePoilievre]

We must put CANADA FIRST.

That is why Common Sense Conservatives condemn President Trump’s massive, unjust and unjustified tariffs on Canada’s already weak economy. Canada is the United States’ closest neighbour, greatest ally and best friend. We share the longest undefended border and fought alongside Americans in two world wars, Korea and Afghanistan, where 158 of our brave men and women died helping the U.S. avenge the 9/11 attacks. There is no justification whatsoever for this treatment.    

The Liberals must put aside their partisan interests and recall Parliament now to pass a Canada First Plan that will: 

1. Retaliate with dollar-for-dollar tariffs carefully aimed at maximizing impact on American companies while minimizing impact on Canadian consumers. That means targeting U.S. products that we can make ourselves, buy elsewhere or do without. For example, we must retaliate against American steel and aluminium, as Canadians can make those vital products at home. 

2. Put all the tariff revenues into help for affected workers and businesses; Government should not keep a dime of the new revenue. 

3. Pass a massive emergency Bring It Home Tax Cut to bolster the economy, stop inflation and save and create jobs. Canada needs a massive tax cut on work, investment, energy, homebuilding and making stuff at home. The Liberal carbon tax and capital gains tax hikes must be the first on the chopping block.  

4. Immediately scrap the Liberal anti-resource law C-69 and greenlight LNG plans, pipelines, mines, factories, and port expansions to overseas markets.  

5. Bring in truly free trade within Canada by knocking down interprovincial barriers to help replace lost north-south trade with east-west trade and to make us self-reliant.

6. Rebuild our military and take back control of our borders to regain the confidence of our partners, assert our sovereignty, protect our people and put Canada First.   

We will protect our economy, defend our sovereignty, bring home production and paycheques and never back down. We will put Canada First—now and always.

[National Post @nationalpost]

Trudeau’s belief, bordering on dogmatism, that Canadians share his devotion for his activist agenda, saw him dismiss those who disagreed with him as uninformed, irresponsible or motivated by unworthy purposes, writes Ivison
https://t.co/DKzKMYzJso

[Dan Kelly @CFIB]

CRA has made clear today that it will continue to collect taxes based on the higher 66.7% capital gains inclusion rate, despite the lack of any legislation from Parliament.
https://t.co/B7iiZPf6z6

While I understand the original decision of CRA to levy the higher rate as of June 25th based on the budget proposal, the circumstances allowing CRA to use this convention has fundamentally changed.
1. Nearly 9 months after the April budget, no legislation was ever presented to Parliament.
2. The Minister of Finance resigned last month and the Prime Minister has announced his impending resignation.
3. Parliament has been prorogued.
4. Opposition parties have said they no longer have confidence in the government and will push for an election as early as possible.
5. Even assuming the current Liberal government (or even a new PM/Finance Minister) tries to introduce legislation as soon as Parliament reconvenes, it is hard to imagine this passing before an election.
6. As the Conservatives have stated that they oppose the increase in capital gains taxation, it seems unlikely a PM Poilievre would introduce such legislation upon taking office.

But the CRA says: "Upon resumption of Parliament, if no bill is passed in the House of Commons, and the government signals its intent to not proceed with the proposed measures, the CRA would cease to administer them."

So CRA will collect billions in capital gains taxes (with no legislation authorizing it) until a government officially tells it to stop. This means that it could be a LONG time before any clarity is provided to taxpayers.

Even though I don't believe the Tories would put forward their own legislation to increase capital gains taxes, I'm not sure they will be in a rush to tell CRA they won't as one of their early acts - especially as it would mean even larger deficits. The Tories have said they will undertake a tax review, which could take months or years.

And I can't see how the current Liberal government or one headed by a new PM or Finance Minister will find a window to proceed.

I expect small business owners and Canadians with capital gains will not have clarity for another year or more. This is deeply unfair and disrespectful to Canadians that have important transactions ahead, not to mention those who rushed to sell businesses or assets in advance of June 25, 2024.

This political purgatory is untenable. CFIB is looking at the legality of CRA's position to date and calls on the agency to revert to the earlier rules, pending a legislative change.

CFIB is also calling on Finance Minister @DLeBlancNB to step in and immediately resolve this issue and calling on all opposition leaders to make clear what they will do should they take office.

With all the political and economic uncertainty in Canada at this moment, governments should be working to provide as much clarity as possible - particularly to Canada's job creators.