To the Editor:
Times are not hard for everyone
A study published in January by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives demonstrates that the Canada’s Elite 100 CEOs had pocketed an average $8.38 million, which is 189 times more than Canadians earning the average wage.
And this difference kept increasing over the last two decades. As an example, the highest paid 100 Canadian CEOs in 1998 earned 105 times more than the average wage.
This must be put in parallel with the $5.4 billion gift the conservative government gave to the rich companies in tax reduction January 1 and with the $11.2 billion gift it will give them in one year.
It should thus put under the projectors the last austerity budgets imposed on non-rich Canadians, the scheduled destruction of our public health care systems, and the freeze on foreign aid, which condemns a countless number of men, women and children to suffering, disease and death.
A democracy diverted from its aim by its rich dominating class is not a democracy. A real democracy would slowly but most certainly conduct us towards wealth and power sharing and thus towards an egalitarian society.
Bruno Marquis, Gatineau, Quebec