The award for political understatement of the year may well go to the federal Minister of Small Business and Tourism, Bardish Chagger.
In an interview on Global News’ The West Block, Chagger told host Vassy Kapelos that maybe her Liberal government could have done their homework before introducing their controversial business tax reform package this year.
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The outrage over the proposed tax changes was loud and relentless and it put Finance Minister Bill Morneau on the political hot seat for most of the year.
The pushback from small business operators, including doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurial startups and mom and pop family operations, forced the government to walk back on most of the proposed changes, and although Morneau seems to have survived the onslaught, his credibility certainly took a hit.
It turned out to be one of the top political stories of the year, much to the chagrin of the federal government.
With the benefit of hindsight, Chagger quite rightly suggests that her colleagues probably should have given more consideration to the impact the changes would have on small business.
Contrition is a rare commodity in politics and while Chagger’s admission is quite refreshing, the bigger question is whether or not her federal government colleagues got the message too.
Bill Kelly is the host of Bill Kelly Show on AM 900 CHML and a commentator for Global News
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