In 2021, food insecurity increased, energy and transportation costs skyrocketed, and Canadians wondered how to stretch their paychecks to cover the rising costs of family essentials. But Canada’s big banks and giant corporations were immune to such worries.

Canadian banks raked in astonishing combined profits of almost $ 58 billion in 2021. RBC alone made $ 16 billion. On average, bank profits grew 46% in 2021.

Canada’s largest businesses were also immune to the trivial worries of having to decide between grocery shopping, paying for needed drugs, or paying rent. Corporate profits increased by $ 103 billion in 2021; an astonishing 37 percent and the largest annual increase since the 1980s.

Canada’s biggest bankers weren’t worried about bills either. Their average annual salary and bonuses were $ 9 million. Compare that to the typical Canadian worker who earns about $ 50,000 per year or $ 961.60 per week.

And things are getting worse.

The latest Canadian Food Price Guide estimates that the average family will see their grocery bill increase by 5 to 7 percent next year, or more than $ 900. The costs of transport, energy and housing are also on the rise.

Even before the pandemic, Canadians saw the gap between themselves and those at the top widening. The Parliamentary Budget Officer recently reported that Canada’s income disparity is worsening, with the richest 1 %’s share of family wealth increasing by about 5 percentage points between 1999 and 2019.

So when economists and Conservative columnists plead for austerity and complain that Canada cannot afford to help struggling families, what are they really saying? They say the status quo is working very well for them and their friends.

In the last election, the Liberals proposed a modest new tax on banks and insurance companies. What was Bay Street’s reaction when these profitable companies were asked to “do a little more” to help Canada’s recovery? We have heard terrible warnings about job losses and rate hikes to “protect their profits”. We have heard fear-mongering about how retirees depend on income sharing for a living.

Let us be clear, the profits that these companies say they have to preserve are not reasonable. And the stock prices of the big banks they want to protect rose 49% last year alone.

The pandemic has revealed how urgently our social safety net and public health care system is. The government’s priority right now should be to help families more and invest in things like child care, pharmacare, long-term care and making housing costs more affordable. Don’t cut spending to protect the scandalous profits from the corporate pandemic.

The tax the Liberals proposed during the election campaign – only covering the revenues of banks and insurance companies over $ 1 billion – is the least they should be doing.

A country’s balance sheet is not just an accounting exercise, it shows our vision and our values. Tuesday’s economic and financial update should not only implement the promised bank tax, it should go further and take action for fair taxation so that our government can invest in strengthening our social safety net – and ensuring that Canada is prepared for the next crisis, whenever it comes.

Canadians, watching the profits of big banks and giant corporations grow at an all-time high, deserve no less.