CHARBONNEAU – CTF doesn’t speak for this Canadian taxpayer
Canadian Taxpayers Federation billboard.
GIVEN THE AMOUNT of media attention that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation gets, you would think that their members would be legion. But no, there are only five.
While there are thousands of donors, they have no say in the running of the CTF. Sensitive to the charge that they are an Astroturf organization –a fake grassroots group– CTF spokesman Scott Hennig responded with Setting the record straight: how the CTF is governed.
“From time to time, some folks claim the CTF is not a grassroots organization because we have ‘five members,’” he wrote. “The truth is that we sometimes have four, sometimes six and currently we have five. According to our bylaws we can have as few as three and as many as 20.”
That’s a pretty weak defence. To quibble over the actual small number of members is to ignore the point. The problem is that the CTF doesn’t hold annual meetings in which members can discuss policy and elect board members. The CTF argues that democracy is too messy.
“Many reading this will have sat through the AGM of a broad member-based organization where two hours is spent arguing over some small change to the bylaws. Well intended to be sure, but largely a waste of time and at the end of the meeting half the attendees leave disappointed and disillusioned.”
Henning justifies the top-down approach by comparing the CTF with other not-for-profits and charities such as the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
This is a false correlation. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association advocates for the civil liberties of all. The CTF advocates for only some taxpayers.
They don’t represent this taxpayer. The assumption of the CTF is that taxes are a bad idea. I gladly pay taxes, not just because I receive good value in return in the form of health care, schools, roads and infrastructure, but because good countries are well-financed. It’s the price of civilization. The governor of Vermont expressed this idea a long time ago:
“Taxation is the price which we pay for civilization, for our social, civil and political institutions, for the security of life and property, and without which, we must resort to the law of force (1852).”
The CTF doesn’t represent others either: those who pay no taxes such as the working poor, stay-at-home parents, and children.
Blogger Dougald Lamont has a problem with the emphasis of taxpayers’ issues over other citizens:
“Defining taxpayers as the only people who matter has real and serious consequences for policy. It is not a politically neutral position: it is a fairly radical right-wing ideology that drives inequality by making the rich richer while neglecting the poor.”
The CTF is disingenuous when it claims to be non-political. You only have to look at past directors to realize their libertarian bent. They include former Conservative Jason Kenney, members of the Saskatchewan Party, Wildrose and Reform parties, the Fraser Institute and press secretary for Rob Ford.
The CTF is welcome to express its anti-government views. But this taxpayer wishes not to be lumped in with their ilk. Media should refer to them as “a right-wing lobby group.”
David Charbonneau is a retired TRU electronics instructor who hosts a blog at http://www.eyeviewkamloops.wordpress.com.
Canadian Taxpayers Federation billboard.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is a fine organization and does good work while the Canadian Civil Liberties Association is just another left-wing group of Social Justice Warriors. Property rights and rule of law are the basis of our liberty and freedom not taxation. Carbon taxes are a great example of a damaging unproductive government tax grab. An imaginary problem solved by you guessed it, another tax. The left is a one-trick pony.
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I am a member of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. That is to say I subscribe to their philosophy. As a former TRU professor, you are hardly an unbiased source. When the Conservatives were the government they took their lumps too. For some, anyone who points out a flaw in the Liberal government is a Conservative. The carbon tax is going to wind up like many taxes. I have yet to hear how the BC carbon tax is helping reduce carbon in this province. More trees planted, subsidize the purchase of more economical cars, pay to upgrade old cars, pay to improve engines on freight trucks, expand transit……no, nothing. What will happen is there will be another government committee. The carbon tax will join our ICBC premiums in general revenues. Our governments have a less than stellar reputation with our tax money. Read the stuff the CTF puts out. All governments, NDP, PC and Liberal are guilty of wasting money. All get their turn as targets.
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Interesting. My observation of the CTF has always been that their responses are based solely on the presence of tax, or a perceived increase to the cost of living. Those responses will generally garner nods from the average citizens who already believe they’re being gouged at every opportunity. But the CTF doesn’t seem to consider whether those costs actually provide value back to the population. The concept of a carbon tax is a perfect example… doing nothing to control carbon is going to cost us way more than we can imagine. The debate shouldn’t be about whether a carbon tax should exist, but rather, how it is applied and how the revenues can be allocated to best address the carbon concern.
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That is one enlightening op-piece DC…who knew about the CTF? Thanks!
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I knew none of this, luckily I hadn’t joined or sent any donations and what you say and how you describe it is enough to make one think that they are indeed just a means of fleecing small amounts of money to create a larger pool for undetermined uses, thank you for this article. Also to add, I don’t want to be lumped into anything with Jason Kenny and I want to be able to ensure that he does not get crowned by the Conservative Party.
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