New Minister Calls National Revenue the ‘Wealth Redistribution’ Department

Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau rises during question period in Ottawa on May 26, 2020. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The newly appointed minister of national revenue says she has a nickname for the department she is now heading, and it involves taking from the rich and giving to the poor.

“I call it in a friendly way the department of wealth redistribution,” says National Revenue Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau.

Ms. Bibeau, who represents the rural riding of Compton-Stanstead in southern Quebec, made the comment to local newspaper Le Progrès de Coaticook.

“National Revenue, it’s over 60,000 employees and everything that encompasses income tax returns,” she said in French. “It’s also the department that administers many programs, including child benefits, those for low-income workers and family caregivers, as well as GST rebates. It’s important that we have good services, that they be accessible and just.”

Ms. Bibeau had spent four years as minister of agriculture before changing her portfolio in the July 26 cabinet shuffle.

She told Le Progrès that it came as a “shock” to be transferred and that she was told the news 24 hours before the announcement.

“The prime minister said he needed me in this post for my managerial skills,” she said.

Ms. Bibeau replaced Diane Lebouthillier in the chair, who was moved to fisheries and oceans.

The department came under fire for its lax management of COVID-19 benefits, with the auditor general finding billions of dollars provided to ineligible recipients.

Canada Revenue Agency Commissioner Bob Hamilton said in January it’s not worth the effort to try to review and recoup over $15 billion in wage subsidies possibly improperly handed out during the COVID-19 era.

Wealth redistribution by the Liberal government has been occurring through means other than income tax, with another minister describing his own regulations in such terms this spring.

“The people who are paying are the richest among us, which is exactly how the system was designed,” said Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault in April in reference to the carbon tax.

“When you look at the details, the better-off Canadians, richer Canadians, in the jurisdictions where the federal pricing system is being applied, will pay thousands of dollars more in carbon pricing,” he told CTV News.

The latest carbon tax hike in April added over 3 cents to a litre of gasoline, bringing the total cost from 11.05 cents to 14.31 cents per litre. It’s planned to reach over 37 cents by 2030.

Amid the affordability crisis, the Liberal government has defended implementation of that policy by saying that putting a price on pollution and building a “green economy” is a necessity and that Canadians actually get more money back.

“We designed our policy that way so that it wouldn’t actually affect Canadians,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on July 28.

She said that 8 out of 10 Canadians get back “more than the price on pollution costs them.”

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) challenged that assertion in a report released in March, stating that most households will see a net loss in their finances.

“Based on our analysis, most households will pay more in fuel charges and GST—as well as receiving slightly lower incomes—than they will receive in Climate Action Incentive payments,” the PBO said.

In response to the affordability crisis, the Liberals announced last week the advance payment of the Canada Workers Benefit for low-income workers, a refundable tax credit normally distributed during tax season.

This follows distribution of the “grocery rebate” earlier this month, which is an enhanced GST rebate that can be used to make any kind of purchase.