Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Is the CRA Helping the Cons Smear the Liberals?



During the dark years of the Con regime, the Canada Revenue Agency was accused of acting as Stephen Harper's secret weapon.

A weapon he used to harass and intimidate his enemies, from environmental groups to a group of birdwatchers who had dared criticize two of his ministers.

The Cons needless to say did nothing to shed light on the situation, before they were toppled.

So now I can't help but wonder if the CRA is once again playing dirty political games. 



For while it seemed strange to me that tax proposals like the one to tax employee discounts, were brought up by the Cons and some in the media, before the Liberals were apparently even aware of them.

I find it even more bizarre that the CRA can't properly explain why thousands of people with diabetes have apparently had their taxes increased.  

A fresh controversy linked to the Liberal government’s approach to taxation erupted on Sunday when a group of health professionals, accompanied by the Conservative finance critic, held a news conference in Ottawa to denounce “thousands of dollars in tax increases” for people with Type 1 diabetes.

And neither can the government, who in their last budget actually made it easier for diabetics to claim that tax credit.

While all the CRA can say is that the situation isn't as serious at it seems.

Late Monday, the CRA said it had “no reason to believe that DTC rejections for diabetes-related cases are anywhere near as high as was suggested. As we speak, CRA officials are reviewing a selection of eligibility decisions related specifically to diabetes.”

Seemingly oblivious to the fact that it has handed Cons like Pierre Poilievre yet another blunt weapon with which to hammer the government... 



Yes, that Pierre Poilievre.

You know, Polly Polly or Pee Wee, the ghastly Con who tried to poison our democracy...



And at one point in his sordid political career seemed to be working hand in hand with the CRA to spread Con propaganda.  

No one likes getting mail from the Canada Revenue Agency. Usually, anyway. But when Edmonton mom Rosemary Ronald opened one letter two weeks ago, she discovered what was intended to be good news: a description of a "proposed" government family benefit soon available to her family, accompanying a request to confirm information they already had (based on past tax filings) about her child.



For who can forget how excited he was at the thought of using our money to try to buy votes?



Or how low he was prepared to go...



So to see him posing as the shining champion of the little people, and smearing a decent man like Bill Morneau, is enough to make me vomit. 

And since he is Pierre Poilievre, and it all seems so strangely familiar, I think it's finally time for the CRA to be investigated. 

It already seems so long since Stephen Harper lorded over our nation. But before memories fade of this awful ordeal there are some critical house-cleaning items to take care of. Perhaps the most pressing is the need to uncover whether the Canada Revenue Agency was improperly taking political direction from the Prime Minister's Office.

For although the passage of time has made some Canadians forget the bestialities of the Con regime, some wounds never heal.

The only way to fully clean this wound is through a Commission of Inquiry empowered to compel testimony under oath and order the production of documents. Senior CRA bureaucrats must be called to answer for themselves. Former PMO staffers should be ordered to appear, perhaps before they disappear to Kuwait.

And trust me, the sinister Andrew Scheer is quite capable of taking us to an even darker place...



You know, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but if the CRA did try to keep one government in power.

And is now trying to bring another one down.

We really need to know, and the sooner the better...

23 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:55 AM

    Tax on employee discounts? Wtf! So if a pair of shoes costs 100 and my emp discount is 10% not only am I paying tax on the 90$ they want an extra 1.15$? BS!

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    1. hi anon...what are you saying? The proposal to tax employee discounts came from the CRA after a court case. The Liberals did not think it up or approve it, and as you'll find out when Morneau delivers his economic update it's going nowhere...

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  2. Anonymous9:10 AM

    Simon, the Libs have a parliamentary majority. If they wanted an enquiry into the CRA they could have it. But they don't want that, just as they don't want an enquiry into Canada's participation in the torture of Afghan detainees. Too many of their own skeletons may be uncovered.

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    1. Yes Mound whatever you say *yawn* Your binary thinking betrays you cretinous old Trudeau hater. The reason the Liberals don't want to investigate the CRA is because they're too nice, and don't want to be accused of treating the CRA in a partisan manner, as did the Cons you love so much. Go take your meds and STFU...

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  3. Wow, even when the Liberals screw up, it's the Tories fault.

    At what point to you hold the Liberals to account for their own actions? Ever?

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    1. Anonymous11:33 AM

      Simon can’t ever fault the lieberals for anything. Did you see his mental gymnastics when they canned electoral reform?

      He was so sure of it, so for it. Until Trudeau changed his mind of course.......

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    2. Hi anonycon...when will you Con apes realize that using the word "lieberal" destroys any credibility you might have and marks you as a Levantine or an idiot? I was for electoral reform, and I still am. But I am not in favour of a referendum as the Cons suckered the NDP into supporting for a very simple reason. And please read this slowly so it sinks in: A REFERENDUM ON A COMPLEX SUBJECT WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY BE DEFEATED AND BECAUSE OF THE DIVISIVENESS AND THE BILLION DOLLARS IT COST WOULD MEAN NOBODY WOULD WANT TO DO THAT AGAIN FOR A VERY LONG TIME. I.E. A GENERATION.
      As it is E.R. remains alive and for that you can thank Trudeau not Nathan Cullen.

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    3. Anonymous9:31 PM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    4. The above comment was deleted for being so Con and so boring it might make decent readers forget to keep breathing. And for calling progressives "crooks" when everybody know that a Con is just a criminal who hasn't been caught...

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  4. hi Gyor...The Liberals didn't handle the tax reform issue as smartly as they should have. But they are doing more than any government in Canadian history to make our tax system fairer. And are acting in a far more decent manner than the Con sucking NDP which has disgraced itself again. As well as presiding over the most extraordinary economic revival I have ever seen. Go shine Nathan Cullen's head and see if you can see the future, because I'm betting all you'll see is darkness and gloom. When will the NDP stop gnawing its nuts off and start acting like a decent progressive party again?

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  5. Anonymous12:09 PM

    So if I understand correctly, the CRA = Canada's IRS. Sounds like projection, just like when the Republicans accused Obama's IRS chief of "persecuting" so-called "conservative charities" (which were really fraudulent shell fronts, scary, gun-hoarding "sovereign militia" groups, and dark-money pools for their paymasters Mercer and Koch). The GOP has since gone on to do just that to Resistance organizations, Planned Parenthood, Muslim banking outfits that operate on principles of Islamic finance (no interest on loans? Blasphemy!) and of course Black Lives Matter.

    I'm not surprised to discover that the Harper Reich similarly weaponized the agency against his political opponents, and that the remaining zombie vestiges of it continue to do so. After all, in much the same way, if it was up to the Republicans, the IRS wouldn't exist at all, because taxes are a sin in their view (unless it funds their pet projects and funnels into the coffers of billionaires). Neither would the Democratic Party, for that matter.

    Your Tories sound like maple-flavored Paul Ryan and Grover Norquist types who want to make government (for the people) so small as to drown it in a melted hockey rink, eh. The Dippers, like the Sanders cult, are unhinged and incoherent, going after Morneau and Trudeau with the same "Hillary is a crook and Obama is a fraud" BS instead of targeting the correct enemy. A pox on both their houses.

    Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were far more qualified and competent leaders than anyone in the GOP, and Justin Trudeau is the only adult in the room up this way too. Points off for Hufflepuff (Huffingpaint?) and Slytherin -- He should put his teacher hat back on (or principal!) and send Cullen and Poilivere to (metaphorical) Saturday detention for troublemaking misbehavior and calculated dishonesty. Which I would love to see him and the rest of the grown-up faculty of the Liberal party do in 2019.

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    1. hi neighbour...yes the CRA is the Canadian equivalent of the IRS, and in the latter years of the Con regime was given extra money to go after Harper's enemies. The CRA always denied that of course, but since almost all those targeted for audits were left-wing, and highly political right-wing groups got away scot free, not many people believed them. The idea was obviously to intimidate people, and in my case it meant forking out to get professional accountants to do my taxes, lest I make a mistake and have the CRA goons on my back, and end up being accused of fraud or god knows what. And remember, I'm the kind of person who is proud to pay taxes, and contribute to making Canada a better and more civilized place. Unfortunately many people have very short memories, which explains why people like Pee Wee Poilievre are able to get away with their ghastly charade...

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    2. Don't forget the targetting of "EI" "cheaters", which selectively went after those under $7,000, and ignored those over "$75,000".

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    3. hi Jay...yes I remember that, and how it became almost impossible to get E.I., and how they raised the age for the old age security, or nickel and soldiers with PTSD and veterans, etc etc. I'm glad I kept a daily record of the Con regime, so I will never forget how awful and un-Canadian they were. And can remind others who might have forgotten...

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  6. Anonymous12:44 PM

    Don't forget the ndp hogs

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    1. hi anon...I don't feel as strongly about the NDP as I feel about the Cons. After all I voted for them in the last election. I just lament the way they have become so much like the Cons, yapping like chihuahuas and seeking to tear down, instead of trying to inspire Canadians, and lift up the political process...

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  7. Anonymous1:21 PM

    HI Simon, I see you're in a feisty mood today. But with all the bullshit going on who can blame you?And besides we like you when you're angry. :p

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    1. hi anon...I'm not really angry, just annoyed, as you point out, at all the bullshit flying around. I've had to delete four comments so far today for using the word "lieberal" or talking in Con. I suspect that Scheer has set up a call centre to help spread "fake news" and they are already practicing how to steal the next election. Good luck, some of us can smell a Con a mile away, and know how to deal with them...

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    2. Anonymous3:12 PM

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    3. The above comment was deleted for using the word "lieberal" and for smelling too Con. Please keep them coming for there are few things I enjoy more that deleting Con comments. One moment they are there, and the next moment they're not...

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  8. Anonymous2:36 PM

    Harper used the CRA to crack down on anyone who dared to oppose him much like he used the RCMP as his own "Gestapo" in the Wright/Duffy/Senate scandal only to end up looking like bumbling fools.
    Why JT didn't launch inquiries into these obvious abuses of power is beyond me so I pray he's finally learned that sunny ways doesn't work with these assholes.
    It's time to start firing back at the constant attacks, real or imaginary. When a party is so devoid of any morals or policies all they have left is the attack, and when they have the MSM in their corner JT would be wise to start rocking their boat, big time.
    Lest we forget the hundreds of high-level Con friendly appointments Harper made to the public service before he was expunged and it's easy to understand why Phoenix is still a disaster and the Public Service as a whole, is a dysfunctional mess. Which I'm sure is exactly what Harper wanted.
    JD

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    1. hi JD...yes, like you I was disappointed that the Liberals didn't set up a public inquiry into the nefarious activities of the Harper regime. I'm sure that if they had at least half of the Cons would have ended up in jail for their crimes against Canada. But I admit I'm hot headed, and I have to remind myself that I'm not in the blood soaked highlands anymore, I'm in peaceful Canada, and Justin Trudeau is behaving like a good Canadian leader should. *sigh* But yes, hopefully this latest episode will make the Liberals understand that its OK to be nice, as long as you wear steel-toed boots, and know how to use them. And that unless the Con media can behave itself, it should be boycotted until it cries uncle...

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  9. e.a.f.4:51 AM

    I would suggest our good MP. peepee, weewee is setting himself up to run for the leadership of the Cons after the election in 2019. When Scheer fails to win government the knives will be out and pp wee wee will be the one with the first dagger. He's working at getting his name out there for the meantime

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