From the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

By Devin Drover 

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is demanding the Canada Revenue Agency to immediately halt enforcement of the proposed capital gains tax hike which has not passed a final vote in Parliament.

“The CRA is trying to enforce a tax increase without it ever becoming law,” said Devin Drover, CTF General Counsel and Atlantic Director. “Taxation should only be based on laws duly passed by elected representatives and not assumptions by unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats.”

The controversy stems from a proposal by the Trudeau government to raise the capital gains inclusion rate for the first time in 25 years. While a ways and means motion for the hike passed last year, the necessary legislation was never introduced, debated or passed.

But now that Parliament has prorogued, the tax hike is stalled until March 24, 2025, when the House of Commons resumes. Given promises from both the Conservatives and the NDP to bring down the Liberal government, it’s unlikely the legislation will pass before the next election.

Despite this, the CRA continues to move forward with enforcing the tax hike.

“It’s a central role of Parliament to vote on tax hikes before the government takes more money from you,” Drover said. “It’s wrong for the prime minister and CRA to treat your elected representative like a rubberstamp.

“The CRA must immediately halt plans to enforce legislation that hasn’t been passed and will undemocratically cost Canadians billions.”

From LifeSiteNews

By Calvin Freiburger

Fast food giant McDonald’s is the latest major corporation to distance itself from “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) policies, reframing its approach to inclusivity around the more universal “Golden Rule.”

The Associated Press reports that the chain plans to abandon specific diversity targets for senior leadership, end a program aimed at diversity training for suppliers, and pause participation in “external surveys,” such as those conducted by the LGBT pressure group Human Rights Campaign (HRC).

“McDonald’s position and our commitment to inclusion is steadfast,” McDonald’s leadership declared in a January 6 open letter. “Since our founding, we’ve prided ourselves on understanding that the foundation of our business is people. As Fred Turner said, ‘We’re a people business, and never forget it.’”

“We are also excited to introduce a new concept: the power of OUR ‘Golden Rule’ – treating everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, always,” it added. “For the last several months, a small team has been working on refining our language to better capture McDonald’s commitment to inclusion.”

McDonald’s cited the “shifting legal landscape” after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-based affirmative action was unconstitutional in 2023 as contributing to the changes. Conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who has successfully pressured other companies to reverse woke policies, said he had informed McDonald’s he planned to release a report on them as well.

McDonald’s joins Walmart, Jack Daniel’s, John Deere, Tractor Supply, Lowe’s, Toyota, and Coors, all of which have dropped “woke” corporate policies over the past several months in response to public pressure.

In recent years, left-wing activists have used DEI and “environmental, social, & governance” (ESG) standards to encourage major U.S. corporations to take favorable stands on political and cultural issues such as homosexuality, transgenderism, race relations, the environment, and abortion.

Political and customer backlashes to such activism has translated to business woes for companies such as Disney, Bud Light, and Target. Former President Donald Trump’s defeat in November outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris for the White House has also been seen by many as further evidence of the general public rejecting woke ideology, further signaling to corporations and activists alike the lack of popular receptiveness to such projects.