Carney silent on Brookfield’s tax avoidance as MP calls it 'obscene'

Liberal leadership candidate Mark Carney declined to address allegations that Brookfield Asset Management, where he previously served as chair, used tax planning strategies to avoid billions in Canadian payments.

Blacklock's Reporter says a New Democrat MP criticized the practice as legal but unjust.

“This is obscene,” said MP Niki Ashton (Churchill-Keewatinook Aski, Man.).

“Canadians are paying the price. We in the NDP are calling on Mark Carney to come clean about his role in Brookfield’s exploitive practices. Did he help Brookfield dodge taxes? Canadians deserve to know.”

Carney did not respond to questions about his involvement.

“Mark Carney has been touted as the poster person for weathering this economic war on our country,” said Ashton. “He has in fact actively been part of a corporation that is part of the problem, not paying its fair share of taxes.”

A 2023 report from the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research, a UK-based think tank, labeled Brookfield “Canada’s top tax dodger.”

It detailed how the company used offshore related-party debt to shift taxable income elsewhere, reducing its financial obligations in Canada.

“While this may be legal, it has large negative impacts on public funding for essential services,” the report stated.

Ashton pointed out that in 2021 alone, Brookfield avoided an estimated $6.5 billion in taxes.

“With the tax dollars Brookfield hid in offshore accounts, we could have spent on health care, affordable housing, and desperately needed infrastructure on First Nations,” she said.

Carney, during a February 25 leadership debate, positioned himself as an economic nationalist.

“We can control our own economic destiny,” he said. “We are masters in our own home.” He also declared his deep commitment to Canada, stating,

“I love our country. Canada has given me everything: My family, my education, my values. In return, I am ready to give everything for Canada.”

The Canada Revenue Agency estimates Canada’s “tax gap” — the difference between taxes owed and unpaid — at $28.7 billion annually, with $11.4 billion attributed to corporations.

A separate 2019 report from the Budget Office suggested the gap could be as high as $40 billion, citing significant corporate cash transfers to offshore tax havens like Luxembourg and Tonga.

Budget Officer Yves Giroux noted that money flows from Canada to some of these jurisdictions were disproportionate.

“The GDP of Tonga is minuscule. It’s a tiny island in the Pacific. And the flow of transactions between Canada and Tonga is many times the GDP of that country,” he said.

“There are very few reasons that would justify a transfer of that much money to a tiny little country except for tax reasons.”

Luxembourg, another frequent destination for corporate transfers, saw an estimated $98.7 billion annually from Canada, despite having a population comparable to Gatineau.

“I am not aware of any oil exploration in Luxembourg,” Giroux remarked.