A global bank tax would "reach into consumers' pockets and punish our financial institutions," Industry Minister Tony Clement said Tuesday, as Conservative cabinet ministers fanned out across the globe to lobby against the proposed measure.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is in Mumbai, Treasury Board President Stockwell Day is in Shanghai and International Trade Minister Peter Van Loan is in Washington -- and all were scheduled to deliver speeches outlining the government's stance on the contentious bank tax proposal, which is backed by European governments.
Clement and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon spoke to the media at home in Ottawa.
Clement said that while the global financial crisis exposed "stark deficiencies" in the international banking community, a tax would unfairly target Canadian institutions that remained fiscally healthy.
"Make no mistake about it: our government is opposed to a global bank tax," Clement said. "This tax would reach into consumers' pockets and punish our financial institutions, which have taken precautions to avoid the very turmoil that is afflicting other parts of the globe."
The full-court press against the bank tax is a tactic Prime Minister Stephen Harper has chosen to give maximum exposure to his government's push to kill the proposed tax.
The tax would collect fees from financial institutions that would be used to protect banks against future financial meltdown, preventing taxpayers from having to bail them out.
European governments are in favour of the concept, which has also reportedly gained the backing of the White House. But the Harper government has opposed the idea from the get-go.
Speaking about his opposition to the bank tax on Monday, Harper suggested Canadian banks could end up paying for the mistakes of other financial institutions that hadn't operated in a fiscally responsible manner.
"They were not able to exploit some of the opportunities that got so many of these other western banks into trouble. That's why we think it would obviously be unfair," he said.
As an alternative, the Harper government suggests that improved financial regulation is the key to avoiding another financial meltdown. Ottawa will continue to push its plan for financial reforms at the upcoming G20 summit in Toronto next month.
Clement called the proposed tax "a distraction" and said there are "other reforms that can and should be done" that would be subject to international co-operation.
Former PM pushes financial regulations
Former prime minister Paul Martin said Tuesday Harper should drop the anti-bank-tax rhetoric and focus instead on promoting reform for banks and other financial institutions.
In the wake of the global financial crisis, it's more important to get the members of the G20 onside with new rules, Martin told the Canadian Press in an interview.
"I think the bank tax is a diversion," Martin said. "Not by Canada, but by a lot of other countries. And I don't think we should allow ourselves to be diverted off the main course.
"If what you want to do is prevent further bank crises, then certainly the first line of attack is bank capital, liquidity and leverage."
With files from The Canadian Press
