A vote for Stronach is a vote for the Liberals
By LICIA CORBELLA -- Calgary Sun
If Belinda Stronach is elected leader of the Conservative Party this weekend -- and I don't believe she will be -- the Liberals will win a majority in the upcoming federal election.
Why? Well, besides the obvious reason that she clearly isn't up to the task of verbally duelling with political veterans such as Prime Minister Paul Martin unless she has a script in front of her, Stronach suffers from one of the same weak spots as Martin -- her corporate background.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against corporations. Indeed, I'm grateful for them and the jobs they create. But next to the corruption scandals that keep popping up for the Liberals, Martin's biggest Achilles heel is his record of tax avoidance while owner of Canada Steamship Lines.
The man who maintained a crushing tax burden on lower- and middle-class Canadians while finance minister for eight years, only had to hoist a flag of convenience up the mast of 18 of his ships to avoid paying Canadian taxes.
He also avoided having to live up to Canadian environmental and labour standards as well and, it's safe to say, he essentially ran sweatshop-like outfits on the high seas while at the same time he was hobnobbing with U2's Bono, sharing his concern about poverty in Africa. It is mind-boggling hypocrisy.
Martin, the architect of the single-largest tax grab in Canadian history with the hike in CPP premiums -- even as the coffers of the Employment Insurance fund were bursting with our surplus millions -- did not even ease the tax burden of Canada's poorest citizens. In Canada, people start paying federal taxes once they've made a paltry $7,756 a year -- which is well below the poverty line.
So, while working single moms struggle under enormous tax burdens, multi-millionaire Martin just has to hoist a different flag up a pole -- flags from such places as the Bahamas, Liberia, Cyprus and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to save himself tens of millions of dollars in Canadian taxes.
It's a real slap in the face, and one you can bet will sting sharply with struggling Canadians of all political stripes.
Stephen Harper will make scrap metal out of Martin's business dealings should he win the leadership, and I hope he does. No doubt, Conservative researchers have been busy calculating just how many millions of dollars in taxes Martin avoided paying to Canada while he was this country's second-most powerful man in the corrupt Liberal government.
But all of that research and poignant political ballast will just have to be tossed overboard if Stronach wins the Conservative crown this weekend.
After all, before throwing her hat into the leadership race, Stronach was CEO of Magna International, a multi-billion-dollar auto parts giant that employs 72,000 workers in 22 countries.
But how indignant could Stronach get over Martin's tax-avoidance manoeuvrings now that it's common knowledge her daddy -- Frank Stronach, founder and chairman of Magna -- avoided paying income taxes on $198 million since 1994 by declaring his principal residence in Switzerland.
And what of attacking Martin for the $161 million in federal contracts awarded to CSL? Surely, that would be acceptable fodder, even for Stronach to go after him on.
Uh, that would be out of the question too, since according to an Industry Canada study, Magna took $18 million in federal subsidies between 1982 and 1997. Magna subsidiaries, Decoma and Tesma, were also up for $6.8 million and $10.9 million, respectively, for a total of $35.7 million in federal subsidies -- a paltry sum when you consider how much Martin's company hauled in, but a substantial chunk of welfare to be sure.
Last year, Frank Stronach was by far Canada's best compensated executive, earning $52.1 million as Magna chairman -- some $35 million more than the next person on the list. Belinda Stronach was fourth at $12.5 million.
How much more money do these people want or need?
Have they no shame that they would take money from poor Canadians to subsidize their exorbitant salaries and then not pay taxes on it too?
Conservatives who vote for Belinda will be handing Martin the election. It's really that simple.
_________________
Paul Martin's entire election strategy in 4 words:
"I didn't do it!"
By LICIA CORBELLA -- Calgary Sun
If Belinda Stronach is elected leader of the Conservative Party this weekend -- and I don't believe she will be -- the Liberals will win a majority in the upcoming federal election.
Why? Well, besides the obvious reason that she clearly isn't up to the task of verbally duelling with political veterans such as Prime Minister Paul Martin unless she has a script in front of her, Stronach suffers from one of the same weak spots as Martin -- her corporate background.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against corporations. Indeed, I'm grateful for them and the jobs they create. But next to the corruption scandals that keep popping up for the Liberals, Martin's biggest Achilles heel is his record of tax avoidance while owner of Canada Steamship Lines.
The man who maintained a crushing tax burden on lower- and middle-class Canadians while finance minister for eight years, only had to hoist a flag of convenience up the mast of 18 of his ships to avoid paying Canadian taxes.
He also avoided having to live up to Canadian environmental and labour standards as well and, it's safe to say, he essentially ran sweatshop-like outfits on the high seas while at the same time he was hobnobbing with U2's Bono, sharing his concern about poverty in Africa. It is mind-boggling hypocrisy.
Martin, the architect of the single-largest tax grab in Canadian history with the hike in CPP premiums -- even as the coffers of the Employment Insurance fund were bursting with our surplus millions -- did not even ease the tax burden of Canada's poorest citizens. In Canada, people start paying federal taxes once they've made a paltry $7,756 a year -- which is well below the poverty line.
So, while working single moms struggle under enormous tax burdens, multi-millionaire Martin just has to hoist a different flag up a pole -- flags from such places as the Bahamas, Liberia, Cyprus and the tiny South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to save himself tens of millions of dollars in Canadian taxes.
It's a real slap in the face, and one you can bet will sting sharply with struggling Canadians of all political stripes.
Stephen Harper will make scrap metal out of Martin's business dealings should he win the leadership, and I hope he does. No doubt, Conservative researchers have been busy calculating just how many millions of dollars in taxes Martin avoided paying to Canada while he was this country's second-most powerful man in the corrupt Liberal government.
But all of that research and poignant political ballast will just have to be tossed overboard if Stronach wins the Conservative crown this weekend.
After all, before throwing her hat into the leadership race, Stronach was CEO of Magna International, a multi-billion-dollar auto parts giant that employs 72,000 workers in 22 countries.
But how indignant could Stronach get over Martin's tax-avoidance manoeuvrings now that it's common knowledge her daddy -- Frank Stronach, founder and chairman of Magna -- avoided paying income taxes on $198 million since 1994 by declaring his principal residence in Switzerland.
And what of attacking Martin for the $161 million in federal contracts awarded to CSL? Surely, that would be acceptable fodder, even for Stronach to go after him on.
Uh, that would be out of the question too, since according to an Industry Canada study, Magna took $18 million in federal subsidies between 1982 and 1997. Magna subsidiaries, Decoma and Tesma, were also up for $6.8 million and $10.9 million, respectively, for a total of $35.7 million in federal subsidies -- a paltry sum when you consider how much Martin's company hauled in, but a substantial chunk of welfare to be sure.
Last year, Frank Stronach was by far Canada's best compensated executive, earning $52.1 million as Magna chairman -- some $35 million more than the next person on the list. Belinda Stronach was fourth at $12.5 million.
How much more money do these people want or need?
Have they no shame that they would take money from poor Canadians to subsidize their exorbitant salaries and then not pay taxes on it too?
Conservatives who vote for Belinda will be handing Martin the election. It's really that simple.
_________________
Paul Martin's entire election strategy in 4 words:
"I didn't do it!"