Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 18, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba A2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM NEWS MONDAY, MARCH 18, 2024 VOL 153 NO 108 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2024 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published six days a week in print and always online at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 Interim CEO / DARREN MURPHY Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor News / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS NEWSMEDIA COUNCIL The Winnipeg Free Press is a member of the National Newsmedia Council, which is an independent organization established to determine acceptable journalistic practices and ethical behaviour. If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to: editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. 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INSIDE Arts and Life D1 Business B4 Classifieds B6 Comics D4 Diversions D5,6 Horoscope D5 Miss Lonelyhearts D5 Opinion A6,7 Sports C1 Television D2 Weather C8 COLUMNISTS: Peter McKenna A7 Aaron Epp B2 READER SERVICE ● GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000 CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? Call or email before 10 a.m. weekdays or 11 a.m. Saturday City: 204-697-7001 Outside Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 press 1 6:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday-Friday.; 7 a.m. - noon Saturday; Closed Sunday TO SUBSCRIBE: 204-697-7001 Out of Winnipeg: 1-800-542-8900 The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of Canada Empty promises aside, province’s payroll tax a permanent fixture P OLITICAL parties in Manitoba have for decades promised to eliminate the province’s so-called payroll tax. The reason they never do it is because once they get into govern- ment, they find out one of the largest employers in Manitoba that pays the tax is the federal government. Ottawa fills provincial coffers with millions of dollars in payroll taxes ev- ery year. Once political parties get into government and figure that out, they quietly rescind their pledge to phase out the tax. The Progressive Conservative party, which held office from 2016 to 2023, was one of those political parties. The Tories pledged to phase out the payroll tax, formerly known as the health and post-secondary education levy. But like all governments before them, they eventually realized the tax — which raises almost a half-billion dollars a year to help pay for health care and universities and colleges — is an important source of revenue for the province. And it’s paid mostly by large employers, including the feds. The federal government employed 13,403 people in Manitoba in 2023. Like all employers with payrolls in ex- cess of $2.25 million, the feds pay the health and post-secondary education levy. Manitoba Finance doesn’t provide breakdowns of how much each employ- er pays in payroll tax levies. However, if the average federal em- ployee earned $40,000 in 2023 (proba- bly a lowball), Ottawa’s total payroll in Manitoba would be somewhere in the neighbourhood of $536 million. At 2.15 per cent (the rate paid by employers with payrolls of $4.5 million or more), that would be about $11.5 million a year paid to the Manitoba government. No provincial government in their right mind would give that money up. The Tories didn’t even come close to eliminating the payroll tax while they were in government. In their 2023 budget, they promised to cut the rate employers pay, but only if the econo- my grew by a certain amount, which it didn’t. So no tax cut. Which is why NDP Finance Minster Adrien Sala said this week there will not be a payroll tax cut for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The Tories and the NDP before them have raised the payroll tax threshold, which has removed some smaller com- panies from the tax roll. But they have always ensured that big employers, including those in the private sector, such as Canada Life, IGM Financial and Pollard Banknote, continue to pay the tax. Why? Because those compa- nies have a corporate obligation to con- tribute to the cost of the health-care and post-secondary education services their organizations benefit from. They can also afford it. Canada Life employs more than 3,000 people in Winnipeg. Pollard Banknote has 850 staff in Manitoba and recently reported a new revenue record of $520 million in 2023, up 7.6 per cent from 2022. Besides, if large private-sector companies, some of whom have raised their dividend payouts to sharehold- ers in recent years, are not paying the levy, then who would replace that income? Where would the half-billion dollars in tax revenue come from if not from the health and post-secondary educa- tion levy? Government can’t cut income taxes, eliminate education property taxes and phase out the payroll tax and still expect to have the revenue to pay for expensive public services that include health care, education, justice, child welfare and infrastructure. The math just doesn’t work. It’s a harsh reality advocates of broad-based tax cuts conveniently ignore. Business groups and others demand tax cuts, but they also want governments to pay for expensive in- frastructure, fund municipalities, pay for health care and education and of course, subsidize businesses through generous corporate welfare handouts. They want it both ways. As it is, the Manitoba government is already running a structural deficit. That means even in good economic times, the province is not generating sufficient revenues to pay for baseline public services. Premier Wab Kinew acknowledged that at a news confer- ence a few months ago. Eventually, bond rating agencies will recognize that and downgrade the province’s credit rating, which will drive up borrowing costs for the prov- ince. That happened under an NDP government before they were defeated in 2016. There is no reasonable economic argument to be made to cut taxes when a government is running a structural deficit, not unless there are corre- sponding spending cuts. If political parties, business groups and others are proposing tax cuts while government is running structural deficits, they should also identify where government can cut spending. They don’t offer that advice because they don’t want spending cuts. They want tax cuts and spending increases which, of course, is hopelessly unrealistic. Payroll taxes are here to stay be- cause government needs the revenue to pay for front-line services. Any talk of phasing out that tax is pure fantasy. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca TOM BRODBECK OPINION Asked whether she had a message for Putin, Navalnaya replied: “Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin. There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he’s a killer, he’s a gangster.” But Putin brushed off the effective- ness of the apparent protest. “There were calls to come vote at noon. And this was supposed to be a manifestation of opposition. Well, if there were calls to come vote, then … I praise this,” he said at a news confer- ence after polls closed. Unusually, Putin referenced Navalny by name for the first time in years at the news conference. And he said he was informed of an idea to release the opposition leader from prison, days before his death. Putin said that he agreed to the idea, on condition that Navalny didn’t return to Russia. Some Russians waiting to vote in Moscow and St. Petersburg told The Associated Press that they were taking part in the protest, but it wasn’t possi- ble to confirm whether all of those in line were doing so. One woman in Moscow, who said her name was Yulia, told the AP that she was voting for the first time. “Even if my vote doesn’t change anything, my conscience will be clear … for the future that I want to see for our country,” she said. Like others, she didn’t give her full name because of security concerns. Another Moscow voter, who also identified himself only by his first name, Vadim, said he hoped for change, but added that “unfortunately, it’s unlikely.” Meanwhile, supporters of Navalny streamed to his grave in Moscow, some bringing ballots with his name written on them. Meduza, Russia’s biggest indepen- dent news outlet, published photos of ballots it received from their readers, with “killer” inscribed on one, “thief” on another and “The Hague awaits you” on yet another. The last refers to an arrest warrant for Putin from the International Criminal Court that ac- cuses him of personal responsibility for abductions of children from Ukraine. Some people told the AP that they were happy to vote for Putin — unsur- prising in a country where indepen- dent media have been hobbled, state TV airs a drumbeat of praise for the Russian leader and voicing any other opinion is risky. Dmitry Sergienko, who cast his ballot in Moscow, said, “I am happy with everything and want everything to continue as it is now.” Voting took place over three days at polling stations across the vast country, in illegally annexed regions of Ukraine and online. As people voted Sunday, Russian authorities said Ukraine launched a massive new wave of attacks on Russia, killing two people — underscoring the challenges facing the Kremlin. Despite tight controls, several dozen cases of vandalism at polling stations were reported across the voting period. Several people were arrested, in- cluding in Moscow and St. Petersburg, after they tried to start fires or set off explosives at polling stations while oth- ers were detained for throwing green antiseptic or ink into ballot boxes. Stanislav Andreychuk, co-chair of the Golos independent election watch- dog, said that pressure on voters from law enforcement had reached unprece- dented levels. Russians, he said in a social media post, were searched when entering polling stations, there were attempts to check filled-out ballots before they were cast, and one report said police demanded a ballot box be opened to remove a ballot. “It’s the first time in my life that I’ve seen such absurdities,” Andreychuk wrote on the messaging app Telegram, adding that he started monitoring elections in Russia 20 years ago. The OVD-Info group that monitors political arrests said that 80 people were arrested in 20 cities across Rus- sia on Sunday. That left little room for people to express their displeasure, but Ivan Zhdanov, the head of Navalny’s An- ti-Corruption Foundation, said that the opposition’s call to protest had been successful. Beyond Russia, huge lines also formed around noon outside diplomat- ic missions in London, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Belgrade and other cities with large Russian communities, many of whom left home after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Protesters in Berlin displayed a fig- ure of Putin bathing in a bath of blood with the Ukrainian flag on the side, alongside shredded ballots in ballot boxes. Russian state television and officials said the lines abroad showed strong turnout. In Tallinn, where hundreds stood in a line snaking around the Estonian capital’s cobbled streets leading to the Russian Embassy, 23-year-old Tatia- na said she came to take part in the protest. “If we have some option to protest I think it’s important to utilize any opportunity,” she said, only giving her first name. Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal politi- cian who tried to join the race on an anti-war platform but was barred from running by election officials, voiced hope that many Russians cast their ballots against Putin. “I believe that the Russian people today have a chance to show their real attitude to what is happening by voting not for Putin, but for some other candidates or in some other way, which is exactly what I did,” he said after vot- ing in Dolgoprudny, a town just outside Moscow. — The Associated Press When asked by CNN whether he would commit to a new election after the war ends, Netanyahu said that “I think that’s something for the Israeli public to decide.” The U.S., which has provided key military and diplomatic support to Israel, also has expressed concerns about a planned Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where about 1.4 million displaced Palestin- ians are sheltering. The spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, told Fox the U.S. still hasn’t seen an Israeli plan for Rafah. The U.S. supports a new round of talks aimed at securing a ceasefire in exchange for the return of Israeli hos- tages taken in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack. The Israeli delegation to those talks was expected to leave for Qatar after Sunday evening meetings of the Secu- rity Cabinet and War Cabinet, which will give directions for negotiations. Despite the talks, Netanyahu made it clear he would not back down from the fighting that has killed more than 31,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. More than five months have passed since Hamas’s attack on southern Israel killed 1,200 people and left another 250 hostage. Earlier Sunday, Netanyahu said that calls for an election now — which polls show he would lose badly — would force Israel to stop fighting and para- lyze the country for six months. Netanyahu also reiterated his de- termination to attack Hamas in Rafah and said that his government approved military plans for such an operation. “We will operate in Rafah. This will take several weeks, and it will happen,” he said. The operation is supposed to include the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of civilians, but it is not clear how Israel will do that. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi reiterated his warning that an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would have “grave repercussions on the whole region.” Egypt says pushing Palestinians into the Sinai Peninsula would jeopardize its peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of regional stability. “We are also very concerned about the risks a full-scale offensive in Rafah would have on the vulnerable civilian population. This needs to be avoided at all costs,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after meeting with el-Sissi. And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after meeting with Netanyahu on Sun- day, warned that “the more desperate the situation of people in Gaza be- comes, the more this begs the question: No matter how important the goal, can it justify such terribly high costs, or are there other ways to achieve your goal?” Germany is one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe and, given memories of the Holocaust, often treads carefully when criticizing Israel. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, in Washington for St. Patrick’s Day, said during a White House reception that the Irish people were “deeply troubled” by what’s unfolding in Gaza. He said there was much to learn from Ireland’s peace process and the critical U.S. involvement in it. Varadkar said he’s often asked why the Irish are so empathetic to the Palestinians. “We see our history in their eyes. A story of displacement, dispossession, and national identity questioned and denied forced emigration, discrimina- tion and now hunger,” he said. Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul-general in New York and an outspoken critic of Netanyahu, said that the prime minister’s comments fit with his efforts to find someone else to blame if Israel doesn’t achieve its goal of destroying Hamas. “He’s looking on purpose for a con- flict with the U.S. so that he can blame Biden,” Pinkas said. Both sides have something to gain politically from the dispute. The Biden administration is under increasing pressure from progressive Democrats and some Arab-American supporters to restrain Israel’s war against Hamas. Netanyahu, meanwhile, wants to show his nationalist base that he can withstand global pressure, even from Israel’s closest ally. But pressure also comes from home, with thousands protesting again in Tel Aviv on Saturday night against Netanyahu’s government and calling for a new election and a deal for the release of hostages. Large parts of the Israeli public want a deal, fearing that hostages are held in poor conditions and time is running out to bring them home alive. Israel’s offensive has driven most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes. A quarter of Gaza’s population is starving, according to the UN. Airdrops by the U.S. and other nations continue, while deliveries on a new sea route have begun, but aid groups say more ground routes and fewer Israeli restrictions on them are needed to meet humanitarian needs in any significant way. “Of course we should be bringing hu- manitarian aid by road. Of course by now we should be having at least two, three other entry points into Gaza,” chef José Andrés with World Central Kitchen, which organized the tons of food delivered by sea, told NBC. The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 31,645 Palestinians have been killed in the war. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says wom- en and children make up two-thirds of the dead. Israel says Hamas is responsible for civilian deaths because it operates in dense residential areas. The Health Ministry on Sunday said that the bodies of 92 people killed in Israel’s bombardment had been brought to hospitals in Gaza in the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 130 wounded, it said. At least 11 people from the Thabet family, including five children and one woman, were killed in an airstrike in Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza, according to the Palestinian Red Cres- cent Society and an Associated Press journalist. The body of an infant lay among the dead. — The Associated Press PUTIN ● FROM A1 NETANYAHU ● FROM A1 ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a visit to his campaign headquarters today. ;