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Robin Hood and his merry activists take to streets across from Parliament Building in support of the Robin Hood Tax. UPDATED
Ottawa (25 May 2012) - On Friday, May 25, at 11 a.m., the streets of downtown Ottawa will become more like Sherwood Forest's days of old as Robin Hood and his merry band of social justice activists take their message - We want a Robin Hood Tax! - to the people! These actions are intended to encourage the Harper government to stop opposing the tax and join with the growing number of leaders from European and developing nations who endorse the introduction of a Financial Transactions Tax (FTT), commonly referred to as the Robin Hood Tax. (Pictures from days event at bottom)
The proposal is for the world's nations to place a 0.05 per cent (1/20th of one per cent) tax on financial transactions that would generate up to $400 billion (Cdn) a year.
Funds from the tax would be used to pay for the social costs of the economic crisis, to fight global poverty, to meet global public needs such as health care and to mitigate and adapt to the impact of climate change. The tax would also play a role in stabilizing the global economy by discouraging the reckless financial speculation that caused the financial crash.
James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE), thinks that "it is time that those most responsible for this crisis, and those that benefited from government bailouts, take greater responsibility for putting things right - both in Canada and around the world."
"As the global economy appears to be slowly recovering from what was the greatest crisis since the Great Depression, it is imperative that all elected leaders examine ways to both steer this recovery and take steps to prevent a re-occurrence."
"In this context, we strongly think that a financial transaction tax is an economic policy initiative that merits Canada’s support."
The Ottawa events follows similar rallies and events around the globe that have taken place to coincide with recent G8 leaders meetings and a meeting of European leaders (May 23).
These activists represent a movement of millions spread across five continents. A Robin Hood Tax would ensure the financial sector, which according to the IMF is “under taxed”, pays its fair share to support the most vulnerable who continue to lose out because of a financial crisis they did nothing to cause.
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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