ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Singh hopes to tax companies where CEOs make 'excessive profits,' in bid to reduce inequality

Share

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh plans to introduce legislation to “rein in outrageous CEO pay†by increasing the taxes of companies where CEOs make “excessive†profits.

Singh told reporters Tuesday he’s taking a page from the books of U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren by introducing a private member’s bill that, if passed, would increase companies’ taxes based on a sliding scale: they could see increases ranging from 0.5 to 5 per cent depending on the size of the CEO’s salary compared to the median salary of a worker in their company.

“What this bill will propose to do is to finally say clearly, that if you can afford to pay CEOs exorbitant salaries, then you should increase the wages of workers,†Singh said. “This is to decrease inequality. This is to force companies to stop the inequality that continues to grow.â€

According to the NDP, Singh's bill would "be similar" to the U.S. Senate Tax Excessive CEOs Pay Act that the party claims would have seen some companies pay significantly more if it had been law in Canada in 2021, including:

  • Loblaw paying up to $106 million more;
  • Rogers paying pay up to $23 million more; and
  • RBC paying up to $200 million more in taxes.

The NDP leader is currently near the top of the list of MPs eligible to table a private members bill, improving his chances of doing so before the end of session.

While inflation has cooled in the last month — dropping to 4.3 per cent in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index from Statistics Canada released Tuesday — grocery prices remain high. In his remarks, Singh called out grocery chains and their CEO’s salaries directly.

Singh on Tuesday mentioned several times the salary of outgoing Loblaw president Galen Weston. It was announced Tuesday that Weston would be stepping away from the day-to-day operations of Loblaw, while staying on as chairperson of the board of directors and CEO of its parent company, George Weston Ltd.

Weston was one of three grocery store CEOs and presidents to appear in March, before a parliamentary committee studying inflated grocery prices.

According to the Canadian Press, Weston’s compensation last year reached $11.7 million, a nearly $1.1-million increase from the year before, between both his roles as CEO of Loblaw and its holding company.

Singh was asked Tuesday whether Weston being replaced as CEO would change anything at Loblaw.

“I'm not worried about Galen Weston,†Singh said. “I think he's going to be fine.â€

“I don't even know if this is actually stepping down or if he's getting a promotion, who knows how these things work in their corporate restructuring, but what I do know is that the new inflation numbers have come out today and the inflation price on food is still high.â€

Singh added it is “the responsibility of government to step up†in this case, because “there is not limit to how much profit†CEOs hope to make.

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.

A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.

Stay Connected