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Federal finance committee to hold hearings on income inequality

Four days of Parliamentary hearings will examine the issue of income inequality.

Ottawa (08 April 2013) – After almost a year since the motion was passed, Parliament's finance committee will finally hold meetings to discuss the issue of rising income inequality in Canada.

The motion was first put forward by former Conservative and now Liberal Member of Parliament, Scott Brison.

Witnesses will appear on April 16, April 25 and April 30. The committee will meet again in June to debate a draft of the final report.

"It's great to see Parliamentarians finally taking a look at this issue," says James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE). "Our union has been working on income inequality issues for years and we're pleased to see that an all-party committee of the House of Commons has taken notice."

"Unfortunately, four days is a short period of time to investigate such a serious problem and the profound implications it has for our eocnomy, society, environment and democracy. We encourage the Committee to look at how strong labour rights, a modern industrial strategy, tax fairness and quality public services can help reduce income inequality."

"And I reiterate my call that the Finance Committee recommend that the government adopt a Fairness Test for all future budgets," said Clancy. "A Fairness Test would evaluate the impact of major tax and spending measures in a budget and tell us whether the budget will reduce income inequality or make the problem worse."

Last month, before the federal budget, the Parliamentary finance committee also held hearings on the issue of tax havens. The federal budget included language saying the federal government would begin to close loopholes in the tax system which allows people to move money offshore without paying their share of taxes.

Few details were announced in the budget but the government may be finding more support for the cause with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists' massive release of leaked documents relating to worldwide offshore accounts.

NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE