By Harinder Mahil
I recently learnt that the federal government has discretion to forgive a person’s tax debt if it becomes difficult for that person to pay taxes. This has nothing to do with filing for bankruptcy. It is unbelievable that if the government has forgiven someone’s taxes, it will not disclose this information to the public because of privacy issues.
Adam Chambers, a Conservative Member of Parliament, has introduced a Private Member’s Bill (Bill C-230) to create a Public Debt Forgiveness Registry.
As I was intrigued by the issue, I began looking at it so that I could understand it. The purpose of the Bill is to create a public registry of corporations whose tax debts of $1,000,000 or more owed to the Government were waived, written off or forgiven. Mr. Chambers says that this will provide transparency for decisions to no longer pursue tax debt owing.
The registry, if established, will disclose the name of the debtor, the amount and period to which it pertains, the legislation involved, and related details, making this information accessible to all Canadians.
Mr. Chambers says that it is in the public interest that this information be available for all Canadians and taxpayers and that this strengthens accountability and builds public trust in how taxpayer dollars are managed. I certainly agree. If the government is forgiving someone’s tax debt, this information should be available to all Canadians. Some of us who are finding it difficult to pay our taxes, may be able to request the government to do the same as well. If they can forgive a large corporation’s taxes, they can surely do the same for struggling Canadians.
The amount of taxes forgiven is not a small amount. Mr. Chambers says that last year, over $15 billion of tax debts owing to the government were waived, written off or forgiven. That is a record amount.
In fact, the average of the largest 100 tax debts owed by corporations was approximately $18 million, and just five corporations had over $1 billion written off.
I note that the Province of British Columbia spent about $9.6 billion on K-12 education and 3.3 billion on postsecondary education in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The amount written off by the government of Canada in 2024 could have paid for the entire education budget of the province of British Columbia.
Last September, the Globe and Mail reported that there has been a sharp spike in the amount of corporate write-offs for tax debts owing. MP Chambers says that the government has been tight-lipped about any details surrounding these write-offs. He says he introduced the Bill in an effort to improve government openness and enhance the integrity of Canada’s fiscal management.
If the government is writing off someone’s debt, particularly corporate debt, this information should be available to Canadians. It is not good enough for the government to hide behind a privacy screen.
I hope all parties will support Bill C-230 so that this important information becomes available to Canadians.
Harinder Mahil is a human rights activist and is secretary of Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation.
