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Naughty and Nice List

Saskatchewan Finance Minister Donna HarpauerFor ending the sneaking income tax hike known as bracket creep‘Tis the season for giving, and Saskatchewan Finance Minister Donna Harpaur is giving taxpayers a great present: the gift of keeping more of our own money. Harpaur put an end to the sneaky practice of bracket creep, where inflation forces taxpayers to automatically pay more taxes. And for that, Harpaur made it to the Taxpayers’ Nice List.

British Columbia Premier John HorganFor pausing his planned carbon tax hikeB.C. Premier John Horgan recognized that the middle of a pandemic and severe economic crisis isn’t the right time to increase carbon taxes. He paused his scheduled hike in the B.C. carbon tax. If only Trudeau had done the same!

The Federal Department of FinanceFor removing tariffs on personal protective equipment after the Taxpayers Federation blew the whistleEarlier this year, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation blew the whistle on federal bureaucrats charging an 18 per cent tariff on personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks. This meant cities and towns would have to pay tens of thousands of dollars in federal taxes just to keep their communities safe. Fortunately, the federal finance department removed its 18 per cent tariff on PPE after the Canadian Taxpayers Federation published a story on the issue.

Politicians who cut their own payUsually, we are hammering politicians after we catch their hands in the taxpayer’s cookie jar, but this year some politicians in Canada are actually cutting their own salaries. That fills us with joy. Here’s a list of the politicians who made the Nice List because they showed solidarity with taxpayers and took a pay cut:• Halifax Mayor Mike Savage for taking a 20 per cent pay cut and Coun. Zurawski for taking a 10 per cent pay cut• Lethbridge city council for taking a 10 per cent pay cut• Vancouver council members who took a 10 per cent pay cut• Burnaby city council for taking a 10 per cent pay cut• Alberta MLA Drew Barnes for pushing Alberta politicians and top bureaucrats to take a 20 per cent pay cut

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Prime Minister Justin TrudeauFor lying to Canadians and increasing carbon taxes

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is giving Canadians the nasty gift of higher heating bills and gas taxes by increasing the carbon

tax by 467 per cent. Trudeau is doubling down on his grinch-style tax hikes by also announcing a second carbon tax. Still

worse, only a few months ago, Trudeau promised Canadians that he would not be raising taxes or costs at all.

United Conservative Party of AlbertaFor taking the federal wage subsidy meant for struggling businesses

Greed is a sure way to end up on the Naughty List. Alberta’s United Conservative Party is acting like a rich guy going to the

soup kitchen by taking the federal wage subsidy. The federal Conservative Party’s leader, Erin O’Toole, knew paying back the

wage subsidy was the right thing to do. Alberta’s Official Opposition NDP isn’t taking the wage subsidy.

Ontario Premier Doug FordFor teaming up with Trudeau to give the Ford Motor Company $590 million

Ontario Premier Doug Ford finds himself on the Naughty List for pulling a reverse Robin Hood: taking hundreds of millions

of dollars from struggling taxpayers and giving the loot to one of the world’s largest corporations, Ford Motor Company. Ford’s

corporate handout will actually result in 400 fewer jobs as retooling the Oakville plant will mean a smaller workforce. Ford can

find his way on to the Taxpayers’ Nice List by living up to his election promise to end corporate welfare.

Mayor of Beauceville François Veilleux For trying to increase his own pay during the economic downturn

Some politicians made the Nice List this year by taking a pay cut, but not Beauceville’s Mayor François Veilleux! While

business are shutting down, Veilleux thinks that he’s been working so hard that he deserves an extra 33 per cent in salary. And

that’s after he doubled his salary and expenses in 2019.

Vancouver and Montreal City HallsFor crying poor while still wasting taxpayers’ money

It’s one thing to claim the cupboards are bare, but it’s another thing to cry poor while spending hundreds of thousands of

dollars on designer office furniture and art. Vancouver’s city bureaucrats spent more than $300,000 on luxury chairs and office

furniture during the pandemic. Montreal city hall commissioned a $600,000 art piece only a few weeks after claiming it was

cash strapped.

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https://www.taxpayer.com/newsroom/feds-drop-18-per-cent-tariff-for-covid-19-protective-gearhttps://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-mayor-taking-cut-to-190k-salary-during-pandemic-1.5534267https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2020/11/25/council-mayor-to-take-10-pay-cut/https://www.vancourier.com/vancouver-city-councillors-agree-to-10-pay-cut-during-pandemic-1.24120082#:~:text=Move%20follows%20Mayor%20Kennedy%20Stewart's,cut%20in%20his%20%24178%2C265%20salary&text=Most%20Vancouver%20city%20councillors%20say,in%20the%20city's%20operating%20budget.https://www.castanet.net/news/BC/301862/Burnaby-council-pay-cut-directed-to-feed-housebound-seniors#:~:text=Burnaby%20city%20councillors%20have%20voted,%2D19%2Drelated%20revenue%20losseshttps://edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists/amidst-another-lockdown-albertas-politicians-need-to-take-a-pay-cut/wcm/1f8019b5-cca9-482d-9379-3ec0380bc7c3/amp/https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/will-the-feds-tax-their-way-out-of-a-deficit-trudeau-says-no-1.1481766https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/conservatives-liberals-ndp-wage-subsidy-pay-back-1.5711132https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-ndp-mocks-ucp-for-wage-subsidy-application-to-sugar-daddy-trudeau-1.5589463https://financialpost.com/opinion/opinion-corporate-welfare-is-still-bad-policy-even-if-its-greenhttps://www.ontariopc.ca/plan_for_the_peoplehttps://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1757655/beauceville-salaire-100-000-dollars-francois-veilleux