Check It Out: This level of theft is not normal
By Joan Janzen
In the middle of a bank robbery, a bank customer with no arms shouted out to the armed robbers, “Don’t shoot! I’m unarmed.”
Ya, I know it’s kind of a groaner, but my point is - unarmed Canadians are being robbed by a crushing load of taxes. In his podcast Chris Baker analyzed the Fraser Institute’s recent report which showed Canadian families spent more on taxes in 2024 than on shelter, food and clothing combined; it’s their largest household expenditure.
“The report showed the average Canadian family spent $48,000 in total taxes in 2024,” Chris said. The amount includes the following taxes: income, payroll, municipal, provincial, federal, carbon, health, sales, property, fuel, excise, plus taxes that get passed on to the consumer.
“Families spent 42% of their income on taxes,” he continued. Those families can skip vacations and other luxuries and even necessities in order to save money, but they have to pay their taxes, he pointed out.
Taxes are the fastest growing expense in Canadian history, faster than food, clothing, housing and even inflation.
That 42% of our income is based on today’s tax bill. “But what if the government had to balance the books instead of running the massive deficits they have today?” Chris mused. “What if government didn’t run deficits and instead taxed Canadians for every dollar they spent?”
If that were the case, our tax burden would jump to over 3,000 percent higher than 1961 levels when 33.5 percent of family income was paid to taxes.
“Today’s deficits are tomorrow’s tax hikes,” Chris reasoned. “The national debt is $1 trillion. Ask yourself, where is that money coming from and how are we going to make that up?”
Chris continued to evaluate the situation. “So let’s play this out - let’s assume that deficits require repayment. It means new taxes or increased rates on existing ones. Everything is taxable in the eyes of a desperate government.”
The tax burden has hit a record high and is still growing, and Canadians need to decide if they are getting good value for their tax dollars. We need to be vigilant because government loves to invent new taxes instead of decreasing spending. Canadians need to speak up, he advised, because government tries to hide some of these new taxes in levies that don’t need to be approved by parliament.
“There’s a difference between civilization and servitude. You should not have to work until June just to pay your taxes. We should not be punished for working hard,” he pointed out.
“Canadians need to stand up or we’ll have a generation that grows up thinking this level of theft is normal,” Chris said.
He observed that unchecked taxation breeds debt, stress and a sense of powerlessness in the masses. “It means delayed retirement, parents who can’t save for their kids’ education, and anxiety. The human cost is massive,” he concluded.
We saw a massive human cost unveil right before our eyes when a shot was heard throughout the world. Much can be said and much has been said about the recent assassination. It was both shocking and sad to hear people in various leadership positions say “he deserved it”.
Such sentiments reveal part of the “massive human cost” when humans choose to hate the person delivering opposing views. MP Rachel Thomas from Lethbridge addressed the issue when Parliament opened last week.
“Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of a free society. It means we will hear ideas that we disagree with and express views we may find offensive. This freedom can make us feel uncomfortable but silencing voices, whether for a moment or forever is never the answer. We must protect a society where people can hold beliefs and share opinions without fear. Charlie Kirk was an outspoken advocate for faith, family and freedom. Many disagreed with him, some were offended. Tragically he was assassinated in an attempt to silence his voice. But when has political violence ever been the solution? It destroys dialogue. It undermines democracy and it breeds fear instead of understanding. True progress comes from persuasion not intimidation. May we defend the right of our opponents to speak freely.”
Chris Baker encouraged Canadians to speak up and fight for their future. “If you don’t, no one else will,” he advised.
No one wants to be robbed of their hard-earned livelihoods by a ballooning tax bill. And no one wants to be robbed of their right to speak freely because of fear, intimidation, ridicule and threats.
Like Chris Baker said, “Canadians need to stand up or we’ll have a generation that grows up thinking this level of theft is normal.” A generation that considers the theft of 42% of their income by taxes as normal is sad. But I don’t want to belong to a generation that considers the voicing of opposing views as deserving of loss of life.