The Fortis building in St. John’s, Newfoundland. A report by Canadians for Tax Fairness found that Fortis, which owns the power utility in Prince Edward Island, avoided paying over $2 billion in corporate taxes since 2017. - File photo, Unaccountable: How did Canada lose $30 billion to corporations?, was released this month by Canadians for Tax Fairness.
Canadians for Tax Fairness advocates for a tax system where “all individuals and corporations pay their fair share,” according to the group’s website. The group’s board includes lawyers, academics and representatives of public sector unions. Cochrane found the tax gap increased substantially for large Canadian corporations like Brookfield Asset Management, Enbridge, Manulife and Scotiabank in 2021 compared to the previous four years.
Cochrane is not sure how Fortis Inc. received millions in rebates instead of paying out billions in taxes. In an email, Fortis vice-president of communications Karen McCarthy said Cochrane's report did not consider the nature of the energy multinational's operations.