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Re: the hatchet job on the Yarmouth ferry by Paige MacPherson, Atlantic director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (Oct. 20 opinion piece). You’d think she’d have bigger fish to fry, but apparently not.

I even doubt whether Ms. MacPherson has graced us with her presence here in Southwest Nova. In some ways, I cannot blame her. She will not be able to book a plane, train or bus to get her here, due to the lobbying efforts of far-right-wing lobby groups like the Canadian Taxpayers Federation who are waging war on rural Canada and the middle class, and who have been very effective in stripping vital infrastructure from small-town Canada.

Far-right lobby group, you say? This cannot be, as they describe themselves as a non-partisan, non-profit citizens’ advocacy group.

Well, let’s have a further look at Ms. MacPherson’s background, shall we? As her LinkedIn profile shows, she interned with the Manning Centre for Building Democracy. This “centre” was founded by Preston Manning, who also formed the Reform Party, the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. Tea Party, and which, of course, brought us Stephen Harper.

Need I say more? Yes.

Another interesting occupation held by Ms. MacPherson was a stint with Sun Media.

Some readers may recall that the Sun News Network was an attempt by the right-wingers of the former Reform party to set up a Fox News-style media outlet for Canada. Thank goodness that was an abject failure.

Now let’s have a deeper look at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. I wholeheartedly agree that there is extensive waste at all levels of government and that they should constantly be held accountable for some the outrageous abuses that occur.

The taxpayers federation has some good initiatives, which I support fully, like being against subsidies for sports stadiums and the like. However, if they are truly concerned about the Canadian taxpayer, there is one glaring omission in the federation’s long list of campaigns. Yes, you guessed it: it has no campaign against oil and gas subsidies — the biggest ones of all.

In 2014, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a list of countries and their subsidies to the oil and gas industry. Canada ranked among the top subsidizers; it supports the industry to the tune of $34 billion annually in direct support to producers, plus uncollected taxes on externalized costs. That is, of course, a term economists like to toss around: it simply means the destruction, pollution and illness costs caused by burning fossils is picked up by others, i.e. the taxpayer. Oil and gas firms simply pick up the profits and direct some of that to “advocacy” groups to help hold on to the status quo.

Why can I not find evidence of a taxpayers federation campaign on oil subsidies? I would make a big bet that the oil and gas industry is a big donor, possibly the biggest to the taxpayers federation, but how would we know? They guard the secrecy of their donors’ list like a squirrel on the last nut.

Incidentally, the taxpayers federation does have a strong campaign against the federal carbon tax. Are we making the link yet over who the Canadian Taxpayers Federation really advocates for?

Now, Ms. MacPherson implies in her piece that if we do away with the Yarmouth ferry, everyone in Nova Scotia would get a family doctor or there would be a highway twinned from Halifax to Yarmouth or students would be smarter.

Well, let’s see what we could do if we stopped the annual direct subsidy to the oil and gas industry, which counts for $3.3 billion of the $34 billion according to International Institute for Sustainable Development. In Canada, we could pay for the education of 260,000 extra students, provide for 16 million hospital bed days, job-train 330,000 Canadians or pave the parking lot at the Yarmouth ferry terminal!

In closing, I want to thank Ms. MacPherson for opening my eyes to exactly what the Canadian Taxpayers Federation really is. It represents big corporate interests bent on dismantling and weakening the government institutions that protect the environment and citizens’ health and safety, so they can maximize profits, degrade the environment and keep widening the wealth gap. I must admit they have been, and continue to be, very effective at their mission. Just look around.

So for those individuals and business owners who have any interests in the hospitality and tourism sector in Atlantic Canada and who are one of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation’s secret donor rolls, I ask you: Is your money really working on your behalf or are you supporting the oil and gas industry?

Tim Surette of Meteghan is a former federal government executive and holds a masters of public administration degree from Dalhousie University.