The Globe & Mail editorial page – the voice of the paper – took aim Sunday at how and why the Driver Inc crisis was allowed to proliferate for more than a decade, despite years of warnings by CTA and others.
The Globe editorial is behind a paywall – we encourage members to subscribe and read it, but here’s some sections:
The possibility of enabling the growth of the underground economy should have been obvious from the start. And any excuse for inaction had vanished by late 2018, when the standing committee on finance flagged the industry’s concerns over Driver Inc. in its annual pre-budget report. That report notes that “the Canadian Trucking Alliance urged the government to stop the widespread tax evasion practice known as ‘Driver Inc.’”
It would take nearly seven years, and change in prime ministers for the government to heed that urging.
“Of course, those companies are responsible for their actions, both legally and morally. They should be held to account, starting with the Canada Revenue Agency ensuring that they all pay every cent owing in taxes, interest and penalties. Fines are likely in order. And if there is evidence of criminal fraud, those cases should be pursued vigorously.
That cannot be the end of the effort to roll up Driver Inc., however. The government needs to come clean with Canadians, acknowledge its own culpability – and commit to recovering the billions of dollars it let slip through its fingers.