CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > CanPol Megathread: Big Changus

flakeloaf: Feb 26, 2003; Still better than android clock

House hippos don't make their nests out of hijab material, therefore Islamists are the reason there are no house hippos for your children to enjoy on Christmas.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 19:13

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# ? May 31, 2024 14:48

twistedmentat: Nov 21, 2003; Its my party
and I'll die if
I want to

mojo1701a posted:

Probably not that much, comparatively. Our media is cheap as poo poo to buy off, and they go lock-step with the right-wing media down south anyway.

Yea, I mean who here hasn't seen some doofus gun nut going on about his 2st Amendment rights here. When you point out that's the US Constitution, not ours, they get confused.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 19:24

Juul-Whip: Mar 10, 2008

my fav is when they invoke the phrase "We the people" or "founding fathers"

# ? Jul 30, 2018 19:46

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

Canadians are racist right wing idiots all by them selves of course, but I love it when the word for word rhetoric actually leaks from the US. Or when they try to do only the most basic find/replace for what ever free-men-on-the-land bullshit they're spouting.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:12

The Cheshire Cat: Jun 10, 2008; Fun Shoe

Baronjutter posted:

Canadians are racist right wing idiots all by them selves of course, but I love it when the word for word rhetoric actually leaks from the US. Or when they try to do only the most basic find/replace for what ever free-men-on-the-land bullshit they're spouting.

Do they even bother with the search and replace? From what I�ve read a lot of those people just continue to quote that poo poo verbatim, including the whole �the fringe on that flag means this is an admiralty court� nonsense.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:15

Testikles: Feb 22, 2009

The flag of libertopia has a gold fringe so no man may be ever tried in court

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:19

priznat: Jul 7, 2009; Let's get drunk and kiss each other all night.

House Hippos are real, and my friends.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:24

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

The Cheshire Cat posted:

Do they even bother with the search and replace? From what I�ve read a lot of those people just continue to quote that poo poo verbatim, including the whole �the fringe on that flag means this is an admiralty court� nonsense.

Following Canadian sovereign citizens is a guilty pleasure of mine. Some will literally order a DVD up from the US full of that bullshit and try to word for word use it with the police or in court, not understanding they are not in the US so talking about the founding fathers, american constitution, or the US supreme court is meaningless here. Others will at least do a sort of find/replace after getting all this US-centric freemen stuff, but it still references things specific to the US government structure or american court system so make zero sense. But there's a growing amount of free men on the land operating within a totally canadian framework, they have crafted conspiracy theories and pseudo-legal jargon actually based on Canadian/Commonwealth history and legal/government structure. Gold fringed flags get replaced with the current queen not being the real queen so all laws made since the last TRUE King of england are invalid and all that. There's a whole network of them within the anglo-sphere all writing legal fan fiction within a shared expanded universe of the commonwealth.

Anyways, there's tons of court transcripts and poo poo covering these people's exciting times in court and they're all amazing. A friend of mine is a lawyer in the US and he also loves this poo poo and says Canadian courts are specially good in smacking them down.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:25

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

priznat posted:

House Hippos are real, and my friends.

YOU BASTARD, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING THEM FROM THE REST OF US?!

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:25

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Baronjutter posted:

There's a whole network of them within the anglo-sphere all writing legal fan fiction within a shared expanded universe of the commonwealth.

And one brave Albertan judge with a penchant for smacking them the gently caress down!

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:26

The Cheshire Cat: Jun 10, 2008; Fun Shoe

PT6A posted:

And one brave Albertan judge with a penchant for smacking them the gently caress down!

Yeah those decisions were posted here a little while ago which was the first time I�d seen them, and they are gold.

Has there been any success in actually going after the people peddling this crap? I know one guy was mentioned as having been prosecuted in Canada but I don�t know if they really have any way to go after them in the US which is where most of it is coming from.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:31

vyelkin: Jan 2, 2011

The Cheshire Cat posted:

Yeah those decisions were posted here a little while ago which was the first time I�d seen them, and they are gold.

Has there been any success in actually going after the people peddling this crap? I know one guy was mentioned as having been prosecuted in Canada but I don�t know if they really have any way to go after them in the US which is where most of it is coming from.

US free speech laws mean it would be basically impossible.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:40

EvidenceBasedQuack: Aug 15, 2015; A rock has no detectable opinion about gravity

PT6A posted:

media literacy only helps people who want it to help them. To quote Simon & Garfunkel: "a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." Knowing the signs of propaganda and bullshit is useless if you actively want to believe whatever the propaganda/bullshit is telling you.

This

# ? Jul 30, 2018 20:47

InfiniteZero: Sep 11, 2004; PINK GUITAR FIRE ROBOT; College Slice

Baronjutter posted:

Anyways, there's tons of court transcripts and poo poo covering these people's exciting times in court and they're all amazing. A friend of mine is a lawyer in the US and he also loves this poo poo and says Canadian courts are specially good in smacking them down.

I thought some sort of law was passed in the last few years that was explicitly meant to stop claims of being a "freeman on the land" having any validity or consideration.

Like, above and beyond the basic laws of Canada. Something specifically so that idiots like this don't waste valuable court time.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 21:44

Viscardus: Jun 1, 2011; Thus equipped by fortune, physique, and character, he was naturally indomitable, and subordinate to no one in the world.

InfiniteZero posted:

I thought some sort of law was passed in the last few years that was explicitly meant to stop claims of being a "freeman on the land" having any validity or consideration.

Like, above and beyond the basic laws of Canada. Something specifically so that idiots like this don't waste valuable court time.

If these people gave a poo poo about what the law actually says, there would be no problem to begin with. There is literally nothing you could do to make the law any more hostile to their idiocy than it already is. Of course, that doesn't mean you couldn't try, I suppose. There just wouldn't be much point, because they'd just invent a new reason that your new law is invalid.

Edit: I suppose you could do something to more severely penalize wasting the court's time with this sort of thing. Perhaps that's what you're referring to? I don't know of any such changes specifically, but that seems more plausible.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 21:48

vyelkin: Jan 2, 2011

How should we deal with these people who think our laws are invalid? I know, we'll pass a law telling them to cut it out!

# ? Jul 30, 2018 21:50

The Cheshire Cat: Jun 10, 2008; Fun Shoe

InfiniteZero posted:

I thought some sort of law was passed in the last few years that was explicitly meant to stop claims of being a "freeman on the land" having any validity or consideration.

Like, above and beyond the basic laws of Canada. Something specifically so that idiots like this don't waste valuable court time.

I don't think it's a specific law that was passed, but more that one of the decisions by the Alberta judge mentioned earlier has been used as precedent to throw these cases out immediately rather than waste the court's time retreading the same old meaningless nonsense.

Viscardus posted:

If these people gave a poo poo about what the law actually says, there would be no problem to begin with. There is literally nothing you could do to make the law any more hostile to their idiocy than it already is. Of course, that doesn't mean you couldn't try, I suppose. There just wouldn't be much point, because they'd just invent a new reason that your new law is invalid.

Edit: I suppose you could do something to more severely penalize wasting the court's time with this sort of thing. Perhaps that's what you're referring to? I don't know of any such changes specifically, but that seems more plausible.

I think that related to the decision above we have made it so that people who try these arguments are marked as vexatious litigants, which severely restricts their ability to sue in the future. This is something that already exists as a measure to deal with people who make a career out of filing frivolous lawsuits, so it's really just that the tactics in question have been labelled as such.

PT6A posted:

The main problem is that media literacy only helps people who want it to help them. To quote Simon & Garfunkel: "a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." Knowing the signs of propaganda and bullshit is useless if you actively want to believe whatever the propaganda/bullshit is telling you.

This is partially true, but a big part of media literacy is specifically about teaching people to be wary of people who seem to be telling them everything they want to hear. Like sure, at the end of the day it's up to the person whether or not they want to believe something and no amount of drilling "don't trust anyone over 30!" into their head is going to change that, but at the very least you can train people to instinctively feel that something is "off" when they're being pandered to.

The Cheshire Cat fucked around with this message at 22:14 on Jul 30, 2018

# ? Jul 30, 2018 22:02

Vintersorg: Mar 3, 2004; President of
the Brendan Fraser
Fan Club

Belgian Club apologizes after hosting event put on by Canadian Nationalist Party

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/belgian-club-white-nationalist-event-1.4766770

quote:

A board member of the Belgian Club of Winnipeg resigned after the club was the site of a planned nationalist rally on Saturday.

In a statement posted on its website, the club apologized for hosting the event, organized by the Canadian Nationalist Party, and said it doesn't reflect its values.

"In early July a junior member of our staff took a booking from an outside organization without fully realizing who or what the Canadian Nationalist Party represents. We realized too late that this group did not represent the views of this club," the statement says.

"Regrettably, during the ensuing protest [Saturday], one of our board members expressed her personal views that do not represent the history, heritage or values of the Belgium Club," the statement went on to say, and the club asked the member to resign, which she did.

The event was a part of a cross-country tour organized by the party, which protesters at the event in Winnipeg said is white supremacist and anti-immigrant. The policies published on the group's website include calling for reduced immigration levels and the deportation of asylum seekers who cross the border.

On Saturday, a group of local activists confronted the handful of people who attended the event. In a video posted on social media, a woman identified as a board member of the club says she doesn't know what white nationalism is and doesn't care, because she isn't involved.

She goes on to say: "I recently lost my job after 15 years, and any job that you apply for, guess what, you have to be a visible minority, or this and this and this."

Brielle Beardy-Linklater, one of the protesters at the event on Saturday, said the club member told the protesters to leave because it was a private event and called police.

A Winnipeg Police Service spokesperson said officers were called to the club on Saturday, but no arrests were made.

Brandon University condemns racism, bigotry in response to white nationalist posters, stickers
Beardy-Linklater, who's Indigenous, said people who attended the event made disparaging remarks about immigrants and Indigenous people. The confrontation was "heated," she said, but she felt it was important for her to be there.

"It's more than just about a difference of opinion. They have an opinion that has a potential to embolden other people who may have similar views, who may actively try to organize, and encourage more people who have racist politics to come forward," she said.

Protesters say the Canadian Nationalist Party opposes multiculturalism and advocates for a monoculture defined by "Eurocentricity."

The nationalist group's 21-point platform says the founding peoples of Canada � which it describes as being of European descent � are being suppressed. It also calls for an end to multiculturalism and for "citizenship requirements be returned to founding criteria, resulting in the immediate deportation of citizenship-holding convicted terrorists."

However, founder Travis Patron has said the Canadian Nationalist Party is not a white nationalist party.

Omar Kinnarath, an organizer with the group Fascist Free Treaty 1, said he was disappointed that the club, which is also home to a branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and a venue for Folklorama, would host such an event, noting that Canadians fought and died to expel Nazis from Belgium in the Second World War.

"It's very disappointing for the people that built that legion and the people that have served to go all the way there and some lose their lives just to have it here, less than 100 years later, trying to start movements of white nationalism."

The club says it is reviewing its booking policies in light of the incident.

"The Belgium Club is filled with members whose fathers and grandfathers fought and died in both the First and Second World Wars fighting against fascism and the Nazis to defend democracy and human rights both abroad and here in our own country," the club's statement says.

Folklorama issued a statement saying it is an "apolitical organization" and that it has no hand in the daily operations of its venues.

The Canadian Nationalist Party hasn't responded to requests for information.

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

And of course dumb gently caress Richard Cloutier of CJOB/Global chiming in on the radio, "Why don't we debate em?" "Listen to both sides!"

What a fucker.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 23:06

PT6A: Jan 5, 2006; Public school teachers are callous dictators who won't lift a finger to stop children from peeing in my plane

Maybe if people who just recently arrived in this country, and may not speak the language, and might not have recognized credentials, and don't have any social network or connections, get a job before you do, you just really loving suck and don't deserve to be hired for a job.

# ? Jul 30, 2018 23:24

DariusLikewise: Oct 4, 2008; You wore that on Halloween?

Vintersorg posted:

Belgian Club apologizes after hosting event put on by Canadian Nationalist Party

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/belgian-club-white-nationalist-event-1.4766770

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

And of course dumb gently caress Richard Cloutier of CJOB/Global chiming in on the radio, "Why don't we debate em?" "Listen to both sides!"

What a fucker.

If there was only someone around to debate the Nazi party in 1930s Germany, we could have completely avoided the holocaust and WW2

# ? Jul 30, 2018 23:34

Testikles: Feb 22, 2009

Remember when Chamberlain defused tensions in Europe by listening?

# ? Jul 31, 2018 00:13

Mad Hamish: Jun 15, 2008; WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.

flakeloaf posted:

House hippos don't make their nests out of hijab material, therefore Islamists are the reason there are no house hippos for your children to enjoy on Christmas.

Many years ago, in 2005, I received a house hippo for Christmas.

My father and I were up late on Christmas eve providing cutting and oh-so-edgy commentary on the televised midnight Mass at Christ the King in Hamilton. The house hippo commercial came on, and I remarked that it was a tragedy that the house hippo was imaginary. They were so cute and little! Who wouldn't want one? Shortly after I went to bed, as it was well past midnight.

Christmas morning came, presents were opened, the customary Christmas morning mimosas were had, we were having a grand old time. Once all the presents had been opened, my dad pointed out that there was one more present for me behind the tree, a small wooden crate that had, when I was very small, held a teddy bear. It looked like it was filled with green tissue paper.

Pulling the paper aside, I found a small nest of dryer lint, a lone sock with a hole in it, and a toast crust with peanut butter. Cradled in this nest was a small bronze hippopotamus, a house hippo of my very own. I don't know how my dad managed it, but one year I got a house hippo for Christmas. It was the best thing I got for Christmas for many years, and I still have it on my shelf right now.

House hippos are real, if you only believe.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 00:30

flakeloaf: Feb 26, 2003; Still better than android clock

I don't care if it is bullshit, that's a top-tier story.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 01:07

Mad Hamish: Jun 15, 2008; WILL AMOUNT TO NOTHING IN LIFE.

flakeloaf posted:

I don't care if it is bullshit, that's a top-tier story.

My dad is the best dad :3

I'm assuming it was a paperweight he had kicking around, or something (why else have a tiny bronze hippo?), but still, it's the sort of rad thing he does.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 01:28

Arc Hammer: Mar 4, 2013; Got any deathsticks?

I can't think of a time when Europe ever had a monoculture even among isolationist nations. This is just more of that imaginary nostalgia for a world that never existed being used to justify bring back pogroms.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 01:43

Arivia: Mar 17, 2011

Mad Hamish posted:

My dad is the best dad :3

I'm assuming it was a paperweight he had kicking around, or something (why else have a tiny bronze hippo?), but still, it's the sort of rad thing he does.

Yeah, that's super super cool.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 02:11

Wistful of Dollars: Aug 25, 2009

# ? Jul 31, 2018 04:51

HookShot: Dec 26, 2005

hahahaha embarassing typos are never not funny

# ? Jul 31, 2018 05:40

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

I swear if someone at Global gets fired for that, we need to rename our timeline the dumbest no-funnest timeline.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 11:21

EvidenceBasedQuack: Aug 15, 2015; A rock has no detectable opinion about gravity

Not CanPol per se, but this analysis provides interesting data and concludes with two solutions possibly relevant to us...

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/20/business/economy/immigration-economic-impact.html

# ? Jul 31, 2018 14:31

Big K of Justice: Nov 27, 2005; Anyone seen my ball joints?

Baronjutter posted:

Following Canadian sovereign citizens is a guilty pleasure of mine. Some will literally order a DVD up from the US full of that bullshit and try to word for word use it with the police or in court, not understanding they are not in the US so talking about the founding fathers, american constitution, or the US supreme court is meaningless here.

The sad thing about US sovereign citizens is they keep referring to the articles of confederation, which was only in effect for 8 years and phased out and replaced by the Constitution as the defacto law of the United States. It was only meant to be a placeholder and nothing more.

Judge John Hurley in Florida gets enough of these guys in Bail proceedings and plays the same word games with them.. its fun to watch:

[The fun starts at 4m59s]

https://youtu.be/vRySQ8rSs9E?t=4m59s

# ? Jul 31, 2018 15:18

DariusLikewise: Oct 4, 2008; You wore that on Halloween?

SkipTheDishes is getting sued in Manitoba, which is a big deal because it could set a precedent for the treatment of gig-economy workers in this province. SkipTheDishes recently lost their biggest Winnipeg customer, Stella's, who were tired of losing 25% of their sales to STD(lol) fees on close to 2 million in deliveries a year.

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/skipthedishes-faces-legal-challenge-about-drivers-489567521.html?k=8efalG

quote:

A rapidly expanding food-delivery service faces a potential class-action lawsuit over its treatment of delivery drivers, an action that could lead to other legal challenges in today's gig economy.

A court challenge launched by Winnipeg SkipTheDishes courier Charleen Pokornik claims the company avoids providing proper employee benefits � including minimum wages, vacation days and overtime pay � by classifying its couriers as independent contractors instead of employees. Pokornik has been a courier since November 2016 and is arguing she and other delivery drivers across the country are entitled to employee benefits they don't currently receive, and that SkipTheDishes is violating labour laws by not providing them.

The statement of claim, filed in Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench July 25, asks the court to certify a class action that aims to seek compensation for all couriers in the eight provinces in which SkipTheDishes operates.

The business, which began its operations in Winnipeg and maintains offices in the Exchange District, has become the fastest-growing online food delivery service in North America, offering deliveries from more than 10,000 restaurants in more than 70 cities across Canada and into the U.S., according to its company website. But Pokornik's claim raises questions about whether its drivers are being treated fairly under employment standards law.

In an emailed statement to the Free Press, a company spokesperson for SkipTheDishes emphasized couriers aren't employed by the company and are considered "independent contractors." There are tens of thousands of couriers active on the SkipTheDishes network nationwide, the company says.

"This matter is before the courts and we look forward to responding through the appropriate channels," the statement said.

Paul Edwards, a Winnipeg lawyer for one of the two firms representing Pokornik, said labour laws have been "well-established", but he argues they aren't being followed in this case.

"The company has certainly cast them as independent contractors and what we�re saying is, they�re wrong. In fact, these drivers are employees. That�s the issue. Now, they certainly will not agree with that, and therein lies the case which the courts are going to have to deal with," he said.

Former delivery drivers who spoke to the Free Press confirmed couriers aren't paid an hourly wage, and expressed frustration over situations where they said they'd lost money on certain deliveries because of out-of-pocket costs.

They're paid per food order they deliver, collecting delivery fees that range from $4 to $7, plus tips. They're responsible for paying for their own gas, vehicle maintenance and car insurance. SkipTheDishes tells couriers what type of car insurance they must have in order to work for them, according to the statement of claim.

Former couriers who spoke to the Free Press said that, although they got to choose their own shifts and availability, they bore costs out of pocket to become couriers, including renting a thermal food delivery bag for between $70 and $80, the cost of which wasn't fully refunded when they returned it at the end of their employment.

Jeremy Short, who worked as a courier for SkipTheDishes between 2015 and 2016, said he didn't feel as though the company "cared that much about their drivers."

"(The drivers) are just as big a part of the company as people working in the main office, I would say. They�re the ones who actually deliver the food, make sure that the customers are satisfied," the 23-year-old said.

"I�m not against SkipTheDishes. I still think it�s a good company. I know it�s growing, it�s doing really well, but I just feel like they don�t treat their � I don�t know if I should say employees � but their couriers, their drivers, as well as they should. Because without the drivers, the whole business just won�t work at all."

Manitoba's Employment Standards Code doesn't apply to independent contractors, but the province's Employment Standards offices handle complaints from those who believe they should be considered employees instead of contractors.

John Godard, a labour and employment professor at University of Manitoba's Asper School of Business, said other countries and other jurisdictions in Canada have grappled with the same issues because of the growth of a side-gig industry that focuses on part-time work and gives workers the ability to set their own hours.

"This is a very common problem with the so-called gig economy," he said, using the term for a labor market characterized by short-term contracts or freelance work, as opposed to permanent jobs.

"This is the kind of thing that�s been going on everywhere, because the laws, when they were enacted, just did not envision this type of employee," he added, saying some labour legislation is too vague about the difference between an employee and an independent contractor � something other jurisdictions, including Ontario, have tried to clarify along with the rise of companies such as Uber that use independent drivers.

The court process for the proposed class-action lawsuit will likely be a lengthy one, Edwards said, and lawyers don't know how many couriers could be involved or what kind of monetary compensation they would seek.

"The companies themselves are going to become more aware of what they need to do to make sure they�ve covered off the legal risks. It is an emerging area and it�s one that we�re hopeful the drivers for SkipTheDishes will be able to be treated fairly according to the terms of the employment standards legislation in each of the provinces in Canada," Edwards said.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 15:20

EvilJoven: Mar 18, 2005; NOBODY,IN THE HISTORY OF EVER, HAS ASKED OR CARED WHAT CANADA THINKS. YOU ARE NOT A COUNTRY. YOUR MONEY HAS THE QUEEN OF ENGLAND ON IT. IF YOU DIG AROUND IN YOUR BACKYARD, NATIVE SKELETONS WOULD EXPLODE OUT OF YOUR LAWN LIKE THE END OF POLTERGEIST. CANADA IS SO POLITE, EH?; Fun Shoe

Good gently caress the gig economy and gently caress our laughable tech sector.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 15:51

tagesschau: Sep 1, 2006; D&D: HASBARA SQUAD
THE SPEECH SUPPRESSOR

Remember: it's "antisemitic" to protest genocide as long as the targets are brown.

vyelkin posted:

US free speech laws mean it would be basically impossible.

That's really not true. The First Amendment does not provide a right to mislead the public by providing fake legal advice.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 16:04

Coxswain Balls: Jun 4, 2001

In the past month or so Skip has been bringing in hundreds of software devs from Brazil, stating that there aren't enough Canadian programmers to meet their demands. This is setting off all sorts of warning lights on my capitalist bullshit detector about not wanting to offer a proper compensation package, but this is Winnipeg we're talking about.

Casual reminder that they believe that asking about how much you're going to get paid or if the job has benefits means you're not Skip material.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2017/03/14/news/skip-dishes-apologizes-ducking-questions-pay-and-benefits

# ? Jul 31, 2018 16:11

Risky Bisquick: Jan 18, 2008; PLEASE LET ME WRITE YOUR VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT SO I CAN FURTHER DEMONSTRATE THE CALAMITY THAT IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM.; Buglord

Starting a tech company in Winnipeg, claiming the SRED and hiring TFWs is the most capitalist thing you can think of.

e:

quote:

People we�re looking for:
Understand that a startup is not a 9-5 job, it's a lifestyle!

That's a no from me dog, red flags everywhere

Risky Bisquick fucked around with this message at 16:32 on Jul 31, 2018

# ? Jul 31, 2018 16:27

DariusLikewise: Oct 4, 2008; You wore that on Halloween?

It doesn't surprise me that the same company that abuses independent contractor rules is also abusing the TFW program

# ? Jul 31, 2018 16:28

vyelkin: Jan 2, 2011

I couldn't find any Canadian workers who wanted my $15k/year computer janitor job in Iqaluit, so I'm shipping in dozens of TFWs.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 16:28

infernal machines: Oct 11, 2012; we monitor many frequencies. we listen always. came a voice, out of the babel of tongues, speaking to us. it played us a mighty dub.

Coxswain Balls posted:

Casual reminder that they believe that asking about how much you're going to get paid or if the job has benefits means you're not Skip material.

"Culture fit"

# ? Jul 31, 2018 16:34

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 31, 2024 14:48

DariusLikewise: Oct 4, 2008; You wore that on Halloween?

If that didn't you guys riled up enough here some Canadian wealth updates

https://twitter.com/james_m_wilt/status/1024306774856359936

https://globalnews.ca/news/4360299/wealth-inequality-canada/

quote:

Fewer than 90 families in Canada hold roughly as much wealth as what everyone living in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island collectively owns.

That�s the finding of a new report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA), which compares the net worth of Canada�s 87 richest families to the wealth of average families since 1999.

�Canada�s dynastic families have got it all � more wealth, more inheritance, and are as lightly taxed as they were the last time we looked in 2014,� study author and CCPA senior economist David Macdonald said in a statement.

The country�s most affluent families are worth $3 billion on average, while the median net worth in Canada is just under $300,000, meaning that half of families own more and half less than that. And while wealth at the top grew by $800 million per family between 2012 and 2016, a rate of 37 per cent, Canada�s median net worth grew by only $37,000, an increase of 15 per cent. Net worth is the total value of a family�s assets minus any debts and other liabilities.

Taken together, the country�s top 87 families hold $259 billion in wealth, just shy of the $269 billion in net assets collectively owned by everyone living in Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, including �all houses, cottages and other properties, all cars, every savings account in the region, RRSPs, pensions, etc.,� Macdonald writes.

The study analyzes wealth inequality using information on Canada�s richest dynasties as compiled by Canadian Business magazine and data on household net worth from Statistics Canada�s Survey of Financial Security.

While much of the current debate about inequality has been focused on the growing gap between the top one per cent of earners and the rest, wealth disparities are just as concerning, Macdonald argues.

Wealth inequality is, in part, a by-product of income inequality. After all, the more you make, the more you can save, and the faster your net worth grows.

�And since returns on larger sums of invested money are naturally higher, we should expect the growth in the net worth of the wealthiest Canadians to outpace everyone else by a larger and larger factor with each passing year,� Macdonald writes.

But the story doesn�t end there, he adds.

Wealth is also accumulating at an increasing rate across generations, according to the report. While in 1999 46 of Canada�s 87 wealthiest families were nouveau riche, by 2016 that number had gone down to 39, meaning that most of today�s top scions were born into wealth.

Not only that, of the richest 20 wealthiest families in Canada, nine have a member who is also one of the country�s top CEOs. The list includes the Westons, the family behind Loblaws and Holt Renfrew, and the Saputos, founders of the namesake cheese empire.

�In other words, not only do these families control vast wealth, but their members are disproportionately likely to be among the highest-paid people in Canada,� Macdonald notes.

The solution?

More taxes on the rich, which would directly reduce the wealth gap and also generate much-needed revenues for public programs aimed at increasing opportunities for those born in middle- and low-middle class families, according to Macdonald.

Canada has a 50 per cent tax break on capital gains income, the money you make when you sell an investment or real estate asset like a cottage or second home at a higher price than you bought it. (Any gain from selling your principal home is fully exempt from the tax.) There�s also a tax break on certain types of dividends. And, unlike the U.S., Japan, France and many other countries, Canada does not have an inheritance or gift tax, Macdonald notes.

Eliminating the tax exemption on capital gains and the tax credit on dividends would raise $11 billion and $5 billion per year, respectively, while mostly hitting Canada�s highest earners, he writes. A 45 per cent tax on estates worth over $5 million would add another $2 billion to federal coffers, he estimates.

Other tax experts who reviewed the report for Global News, however, were skeptical about the eventual impact of such sweeping changes to the tax code.

Wealth inequality is �an important issue,� said France St-Hilaire, vice-president of research at the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), which published a seminal book on income inequality in Canada in 2016.

Still, the policy fixes proposed by the CCPA study are �over-simplified,� St-Hilaire added. Raising certain taxes without a comprehensive review of the tax code can lead to �unintended consequences,� she said.

Even with a rather broad approach things can go awfully astray, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau painfully learned last year. Inequality, capital gains and dividends taxes were very much the focus of the wildly unpopular tax changes Finance Minister Bill Morneau proposed in the summer of 2017.

The reforms were intended to put an end to measures that the government contended had allowed wealthy individuals to use incorporation as small businesses to unfairly reduce their income tax burden.

Morneau�s initial tax proposals, though, triggered an angry backlash from doctors, lawyers, accountants, shop owners, farmers, premiers and even some Liberal backbenchers, who maintained the reforms would hurt the very middle-class Canadians that the Trudeau government claims to be trying to help.

Although there may be a case for reducing the current tax break on capital gains, including when it comes to the pricey homes that are people�s primary residences, one would have to proceed with caution, said Lindsay Tedds, a professor of economics at the University of Calgary.

The wealthy have access to sophisticated financial advice and are very good at re-arranging their affairs to minimize the impact of new taxes, she added. The risk is playing whack-a-mole, with the government raising one type of tax and the rich quickly finding a new way to shelter their wealth from it.

A prolonged game of whack-a-mole can lead to an overly intricate tax web that still fails to catch the big fish.

# ? Jul 31, 2018 16:50

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