Poilievre goes after 'global elite' in final Edmonton stop

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It was fitting that Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre made the final pit stop of his two-day Edmonton visit in a tire and car repair shop deep in the city’s southeast.

Because Poilievre was on a mission to accomplish two things — to announce a new policy that would see government get tough on the “elites” who stash cash in overseas tax havens, and to take a victory lap after Monday night’s rally in Nisku that saw more than 10,000 Tory supporters pack a warehouse.

“I think it is pretty broad,” Poilievre said of his supporters as he stood in front of reporters Tuesday morning.

Then he asked the media gallery, “When was the last time we had a rally that big in Canada?”

And Poilievre kept at the media gallery, smile on his face, as he posited that the media would surely know of a political gathering that was as large as Monday’s event in Nisku.

“It was pretty incredible. I think it had 10,000 or 15,000 people for a political rally, this is a movement like we’ve never seen, because people want change. They want to put our country first for a change.”

The Tory party had Monday’s crowd at 15,000, with 10,000 attendees registered in advance.

Polls tilt Liberals

Despite the big blue presence in Edmonton over the past two days, the national polls continue to show the Liberals poised to form government for a fourth straight term. And, Poilievre’s Tuesday appearance was staged deep in the Edmonton Southeast riding, where Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi is carrying the Liberal flag in his quest to return to Parliament.

Jagsharan Singh Mahal, the Tory candidate for Southeast, introduced Poilievre Tuesday

“Today’s announcement will level the field for local businesses,” said Mahal of the Tory’s plan to close tax loopholes for the wealthy. “Over the last Liberal decade, with crime and costs up, and the economy down, it is clear that the Liberals don’t deserve a fourth term.”

Mahal acted as the hype man on Tuesday, while Edmonton Gateway’s Tim Uppal and Edmonton Northwest’s Billy Morin fulfilled those roles during Monday’s rally. But, at neither event did any of the Conservative Party’s local candidates field questions from the media. At the rally, both Edmonton Centre’s Sayid Ahmed and Edmonton Griesbach’s Kerry Diotte said no to answering questions, on the record. Ahmed said that interviews had to be booked through his campaign office, which Postmedia has attempted, receiving confirmations that the requests were received.

As per the norm for campaign stops, Poilievre took only four questions from the media, and reporters were asked before the event about what they wanted to ask the Tory leader.

Closing unfair tax loopholes

At Tuesday’s event, Poilievre redoubled his efforts to portray Liberal Leader Mark Carney as a member of a global cabal of the rich and famous who stash their money away in tax havens. Both the NDP and Tories have accused Carney of aiding and abetting Brookfield Asset Management, where he was a vice chairman and shareholder, of dodging billions in Canadian taxes. The accusation is that Brookfield had registered itself in the tax haven of Bermuda, far away from the eyes of Revenue Canada. It is not illegal for people to move their money around the world. Even members of U2 have been blasted for moving their money outside of their Irish home to places that have far more advantageous tax regimes.

Carney has defended his actions, saying the Bermuda accounts were necessary to avoid “double taxation.”

So, it’s up to governments to forge international arrangements and create laws to close the loopholes, and that’s what Poilievre promised Tuesday.

“While you scramble to file before the deadline, checking every line to avoid being hit by a CRA audit, you learn that global liberal elites are getting away without paying anything at all. One of these individuals happens to be Justin Trudeau’s economic adviser and hand-picked successor, Mark Carney.”

Poilievre said that while the rich dodge taxes, “the CRA was busy harassing small businesses and charities, forcing them to rifle through old receipts from six years earlier, charging fees and fines, and endless lawyer and accounting fees.”

He said a task force will be created to find ways to close off the path for Canada’s rich to use tax havens abroad. That task force will also be tasked to close loopholes in the Canadian tax system. The Canada Revenue Agency would be redirected to go after the big tax dodgers, and reduce its efforts to police small businesses and charities.  A database would be created to “name and shame” wealthy “tax dodgers.”

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