Rethinking taxation: Oxfam Canada calls for bold investments in social programs to combat inequality
As inflation pressures, social inequities, and strained public services continue challenging Canadian households, Lauren Ravon, executive director of Oxfam Canada, says it’s time to boldly rethink how taxation fuels national prosperity and supports the country’s social safety net.
To confront Canada’s widening affordability gap, Prime Minister Mark Carney has laid out an ambitious plan to build what he calls "one economy" — a unified, resilient system that balances market growth with inclusive prosperity.
Carney’s economic vision prioritizes major investments in trade infrastructure and national defence, aiming to boost competitiveness and security in a volatile global landscape.
Ravon said in an interview that as governments consider how to build economic prosperity, they need to recognize social safety net spending as an investment with tangible returns, especially in the fight against poverty and inequality.
“The main message would be that we need to start seeing a lot of this spending in social safety nets and social programs as investments rather than as expenses,” she says. “Study after study has demonstrated that those investments pay off and pay off very quickly in terms of actual GDP.”
“The main message would be that we need to start seeing a lot of this spending in social safety nets and social programs as investments rather than as expenses.”
Lauren Ravon, Executive Director, Oxfam Canada
Childcare, for example, has immediate economic returns, she says, by enabling more women to enter the workforce, pay taxes and contribute to growth. “We have to stop thinking of the economy versus social programs. They go hand in hand.”
Oxfam, a global anti-poverty organization, argues that tax reform is essential to funding public services, addressing inequality, and creating what it calls “shared prosperity.” Its leaders are urging policymakers to take bolder steps, including wealth taxes, closing tax loopholes and cracking down on tax avoidance.
“There’s a lot of unhelpful misconceptions about taxation that make it hard for political leaders... to take bold measures,” Ravon said. “Because people don’t know or understand the link between taxation and injustice and shared prosperity.”
She added that taxing the ultra-wealthy — even modestly — should not be controversial. “Taxing... the highest wealth holders in this country is robbing them of nothing and has such a huge payoff for others.”
Oxfam’s comments are part of a broader push to highlight the role of inequality in stalling poverty reduction efforts. Despite decades of economic growth, the number of people living in poverty globally remains unchanged from the 1990s, while billionaire wealth has soared.
“Our latest report shows that billionaire wealth rose three times faster in 2024 than the previous year,” Ravon said. “We’re now expecting five trillionaires within the next decade. Meanwhile, millions still live in poverty. The gap is staggering.”
Referencing a recent Oxfam report, Takers, Not Makers, she noted that most global billionaires under 30 inherited their wealth, and many benefited from monopoly power or political connections. “This is not earned wealth,” she said. “This is why we talk about the takers, not the makers.”
In Canada, Oxfam has been active in policy advocacy around gender justice, poverty alleviation and tax fairness. The organization focuses on intersectional approaches that target systemic inequities affecting women, Indigenous communities, racialized groups, newcomers and people with disabilities.
“Building a social safety net and investing in public services is a measure to fight poverty,” she said. “We need to be looking at new sources of revenue... wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, raising the corporate tax rates.”
She also highlighted international disparities, pointing to debt burdens in low- and middle-income countries. “Many... are actually paying 50 per cent of their budget in debt servicing. That’s all funds not going into education, health systems — anything. Debt cancellation is crucial.”
“We need to be looking at new sources of revenue... wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, raising the corporate tax rates.”
Lauren Ravon, Executive Director, Oxfam Canada
Oxfam argues that addressing inequality is about more than fairness — it's necessary for stability, health and long-term economic strength.
“Countries with greater economic inequality have more social tension, conflict, lower well-being, and even lower happiness levels,” Ravon said. “Shared prosperity has to have an element of wealth and resource redistribution. And it’s to everyone’s benefit.”
When it comes to why it was important for Oxfam to be a Coalition member, Ravon noted that “Coalition work is in Oxfam’s DNA.”
She added, “I can't think of any initiative that we've worked on where we have gone at it alone. And I think the main reason is that as an organization, we really see how the dots connect between so many areas of racial justice, economic justice, gender justice, climate justice, that if you're trying to make progress on any front, you need to be connecting with others. You know, there's strength in numbers, but there's also strength in having an intersectional, diverse approach to working in coalition, that's something that we bring to everything we do.”
