Tax Talk with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger pitched five senior cabinet ministers out the door after they had the temerity to stand up to their gruesomely unpopular boss. (Of course, those five joined lockstep with Selinger to bring in a sales tax hike, but now they want him gone!) Obscure backbencher Greg Dewar was promoted to Finance Minister – but how long until Selinger gets the boot? CTF Prairie Director Colin Craig joins Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to figure out what it all means to Manitoba taxpayers. Plus our usual features – the Comment of the Cast and our Waste of the Week!

The CRTC showed its dinosaur credentials by going after Netflix and YouTube – but the CTF's federal director Gregory Thomas joins Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to offer a simpler, better solution to the ongoing tax inequity.

Plus our usual features – the Comment of the Cast and the Waste of the Week!

Brian Gallant and the Liberals swept to power in New Brunswick this fall, rising an anti-resource message that may end up costing NB taxpayers dearly. CTF Atlantic director Kevin Lacey joins Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to break down that result, with some bonus coverage of Nova Scotia's ongoing Bluenose II debacle. Plus our usual features – the Comment of the Cast and the Waste of the Week!

The CTF’s federal director, Gregory Thomas, is leaving the organization to return to B.C., after four years as the federal face of the CTF franchise in Ottawa. Gregory joins CTF B.C. Director and Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to look back on his accomplishments as federal director, and what taxpayers need to be leery of in the coming years.

Plus our usual features – the Comment of the Cast and our Waste of the Week!

Fifteen years ago, then-Alberta treasurer Stockwell Day introduced a single rate tax in Alberta, and the table was laid for a decade of unprecedented prosperity in that province. At the World Taxpayers Association conference in Vancouver, Stockwell shared the Alberta experience with representatives of 25 different taxpayers associations from around the world.

Plus our usual features with Jordan Bateman – the Comment of the Cast and our Waste of the Week!

Paul Martin served as Canada's 34th finance minister from 1993 to 2002 and Canada's 21st Prime Minister from 2003 until 2006. During his time in office, he balanced Canada's budget for the first time in a quarter century, debt as a percentage of GDP dropped from 81% to 45%, and interest payments decreased from 30 cents on the dollar to 13 cents. For these achievements Paul Martin was honoured by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation on May 31st, 2014, and presented with the "Stop the Clock" award for getting Canada's finances in order and reducing Canada's debt. This podcast features an excerpt from his acceptance speech. Plus our usual features – the Comment of the Cast and our Waste of the Week!

It’s municipal election season in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario, and the CTF’s Prairie Director Colin Craig has put together a menu of 25 campaign platform planks he hopes city candidates will adopt. Colin joins B.C. Director and Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to run through those recommendations and talk about the plight of the property taxpayer. Plus our usual features – the Comment of the Cast and our Waste of the Week!

Next month, nearly 200 delegates from around the world and across Canada will converge on Vancouver for the World Taxpayers Associations’ biennial conference. Some 68 organizations, spread across 54 countries – including the Canadian Taxpayers Federation – are part of the WTA. The CTF's president and CEO, Troy Lanigan, joins Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to talk about it all.

Plus our usual features – our Comment of the Cast and Waste of the Week.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was a budget surplus, it was a budget deficit. It was a tax freeze, it was a tax increase. It was Saskatchewan, it was Manitoba. Yes, the two prairie provinces are trending in very different directions. The CTF's prairie director, Colin Craig, joins Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to talk about it all.

Plus our usual features – our Comment of the Cast and Waste of the Week.

Last month, federal finance minister Jim Flaherty stepped down after eight years in the job. He was replaced a day later by Joe Oliver. The CTF's federal director, Gregory Thomas, joins Tax Talk host Jordan Bateman to talk about Flaherty's legacy and Oliver's future.

Plus our usual features – our Comment of the Cast and Waste of the Week.