Addendum
This Addendum contains supplemental information to our platform. It contains policies that were costed but did not make it into the original publication of the platform.
Financial Transaction Tax
Greens believe that economic policy flows out of social and environmental policy. As such, a green economy demands that everyone contribute their fair share. Large financial institutions are not contributing what is needed for us to make the transition to a sustainable future.
Nobel Prize-winning economist James Tobin proposed a tax of 0.5% on major financial transactions, designed to eliminate the massive movement of funds between different currencies, which fuels short-term currency speculation.[34] A Green government will implement this tax, allowing the federal government to redirect a portion of large-scale financial transactions for the benefit of all Canadians.
This tax will only apply to stock purchases made by large, publicly-traded financial institutions.
Net Wealth Tax
There is something deeply wrong with the growing gap between rich and poor in Canada. Making this problem worse is the fact that the burden of taxation on families is not fairly distributed and many of Canada’s wealthiest people are simply not paying their fair share.
Our climate plan, Mission: Possible, is designed to meet or exceed all of the commitments in the Green New Deal. With this in mind, a Green government will implement a one per cent tax on net wealth over $20 million. This measure will help build a more fair and equitable tax system while starting the process of bridging the growing gap between rich and poor in Canada.
Taxing Sugary Drinks
Canadian parents are facing a troubling reality – for the first time in our history, children will likely be less healthy than their parents. This is a complex, major issue that will require systemic, societal changes to overcome. On the recommendation of Diabetes Canada, the Canadian Medical Association,[35] Dietitians of Canada,[36] and the Heart and Stroke Foundation,[37] the Green Party of Canada will begin that process by adding a special tax on one of the leading causes of obesity and certain types of diabetes – the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.
In order to help ensure a healthier society, the Green Party will institute a 10 per cent tax, before other sales taxes, on these calorie-dense, nutritionally lacking beverages. Internationally, such taxes have not only created useful revenue tools, they’ve led to a substantial reduction in the consumption of sugary drinks.[38]
- 34. James Tobin, “A Proposal for International Monetary Reform,” Eastern Economic Journal, 1978, online: https://ideas.repec.org/a/eej/eeconj/v4y1978i3-4p153-159.html.
- 35. CMA, “Federal excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and artificially-sweetened drinks,” August 2017, online: https://policybase.cma.ca/en/permalink/policy13709.
- 36. Dietitians of Canada, “Taxation and Sugar-sweetened Beverages,” February 2016, online: https://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Public/DC-Position-SSBs-and-taxation.aspx
- 37. Amanda Jones et al, “The tax and economic impact of a tax on sugary drinks in Canada,” March 2017, online: https://www.heartandstroke.ca/-/media/pdf-files/canada/media-centre/health-economic-impact-sugary-drink-tax-in-canada-en.ashx?la=en&hash=0CF692F4AB6343A7536211A818A56ECA4CE09D14.
- 38. Andrea M. Teng, Amanda C. Jones, Anja Mizdrak, Louise Signal, Murat Genç, Nick Wilson, “Impact of sugar-sweetened beverage taxes on purchases and dietary intake: Systematic review and meta-analysis.” Obesity Reviews, 2019; DOI: 10.1111/obr.12868