• About
  • Join/Donate
  • Contact
Saturday, January 23, 2021
No Result
View All Result
The Brief
NB MEDIA CO-OP
Share a story
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Gender
  • Politics
  • Arts & Culture
  • Videos
  • COVID-19
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Gender
  • Politics
  • Arts & Culture
  • Videos
  • COVID-19
No Result
View All Result
NB MEDIA CO-OP
No Result
View All Result
Home Arts & Culture

“Decades of missing funds leaving us down and out:” Patrick Collette’s poem for Alain Deneault’s work on tax havens

by Patrick Collette
December 24, 2019
5 min read

Books by Alain Deneault

(La version française suit)

Decades of missing funds leaving us down and out

It is time we get down to the nitty gritty

Yes that’s right I’m talking about hiding money

Of course there’s the classic way called tax evasion

Less known is tax dodging legal in our nation

Taxes our laws allow filthy rich to avoid

Not paying their share is why our coffers are void

Also what’s missing is the political will

Consequently we’re the ones picking up the bill

I’ve often said that what we’ve done we can undo

We have the means to change things and make our world true

The offshore world is why there is so much evil

It is a place that harbors very bad people

So why are we not taking care of this problem

There’s a bunch of reasons I will try to name them

Thanks to my friend Alain Deneault and his good books

He has written them down for anyone who looks

So obviously our public treasure is poor

Instead of us being well off it’s banks offshore

With such wealth it’s easy to bribe politicians

Deposited offshore for diverting missions

We will hear many say how can they sleep at night

If they’d look at their conscience they’d see a poor sight

I guess those who take the money have none per say

They just do their time and then they are on their way

What does not help much is how Hollywood portrays

So that our critical thinking is in a maze

Often the hero like Bond will use a haven

Thanks to it he’ll wind up defeating the villain

In our minds what happens is we kind of accept

Rather than engaging strong actions we’re inept

Not seeing dangers that are really at play

We just go on with our business from day to day

Of course mainstream media won’t help us one bit

Their coverage of the issue is to omit

Needless to say the owners dodge taxes also

No surprise little is said on any news show

Otherwise we’d be furious learning so much

In no time tax havens would be old news as such

Once and a while information is presented

When that does occur the essential is vented

It would be easy to get people up in arms

It wouldn’t take pretty anchors deploying their charms

Simply presenting what price transfer tactics are

Would suffice but no one is doing it so far

As with a lot of the problems we are facing

Most have no time to spare coz busy surviving

One can ask oneself if it’s not part of the plan

This dog-eat-dog world not really a big fan

So if I’ve decided to write on this subject

It’s because I’ve learned enough to know it’s abject

It’s not billions it’s trillions we’re talking about

Decades of missing funds leaving us down and out

Paraphrasing Deneault about consequences

Trying to say all in just a few sentences

Will not be easy but I will give it a shot

Gotta leave out some stuff because there is a lot

When schools deteriorate and when clinics close

And when an overpass collapses on our toes

When our festival is refused its subsidies

It’s all because of tax havens say his studies

When politicians say we must tighten our belts

We might still eat potatoes but forget the smelts

Austerity measures they say are what we need

What’s not said is that it’s to satisfy their greed

And a very big part of the problem at hand

One of the most important ones to understand

Tax havens are the vehicle for corruption

Their opaqueness provides crooks better deception

Like I said there’s too much to cover all right now

To know more on this read Alain Deneault that’s how

I hope my poem was enough to raise concern

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year live and learn

Patrick Collette is a poet, artist and writer from New Brunswick.

*the English version of this poem was slightly revised on Dec. 29 when the French version, below, was added.

For readers interested in tax havens and Canadian capital abroad, the NB Media Co-op and the RAVEN project have organized an event in Fredericton on Tuesday Jan. 7: All are invited to hear David Thomas on his book, Bombardier Abroad: Patterns of Dispossession, in a conversation with Alain Deneault on how corporations shape social inequalities.

Event Facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/events/423665751901804/

**

(Version française)

Il est temps de parler d’un sujet important

Oui c’est ça il s’agit des cachettes d’argent

Tout le monde connait l’évasion fiscale

Sachez que l’évitement fiscale est légal

Impôts nos lois laissent les riches éviter

C’est pourquoi notre trésor publique est vidé

Aussi absent est la volonté politique

C’est donc à nous citoyens de sortir le fric

Et bien ce que l’on a fait nous pouvons défaire

Techniquement faisable sans trop de misère

Le monde offshore est bien synonyme du mal

Hébergeant bandits aussi beaucoup d’argent sale

Pourquoi nous ne nous occupons pas de cela

De nombreuses raisons je pige dans le tas

Merci Alain Deneault pour tes livres écrits

Tout est là en noir et blanc nous sommes servis

Clairement pour le peuple avantage zéro

Pas nous à l’aise plutôt les abris fiscaux

Avec autant d’argent facile a soudoyer

Politiques acheter montant déposé

Beaucoup le disent comment ils font pour dormir

Leur image dans le miroir rien qui inspire

Au lieu de bonnes consciences le néant

Des mandats corrompus encore plus payant

Ce qui n’aide pas Hollywood qui romantise

La pensée critique finit sur la banquise

Souvent le héros comme Bond se sert d’abris

Et grâce à cela les vilains sont tous conquis

Dans nos esprits nous finissons par accepter

Donc au lieu d’agir nous sommes paralysés

Nous ne voyons pas les dangers qui sont en jeu

À chaque jour nous faisons semblant d’être heureux

Oui les réseaux médiatiques n’aident pas

Piètres infos nous laissent dans de sales draps

Disant que les proprios s’en servent aussi

Il va sans dire qu’aux nouvelles rien est dit

Autrement nous serons munies d’un bon savoir

Et en peu de temps fini les échappatoires

De temps à autres une information sort

Quoique l’essentiel va rester au point mort

Sans problème ils peuvent très bien nous informer

Journalistes sont capables de nous aider

Juste nous présenter c’est quoi prix de transfert

Mais semble-t-il que personne ne veut le faire

Et comme c’est avec beaucoup de nos dérives

Peu ont le temps car trop occupés à survivre

C’est à ce demander si ce n’est pas voulu

Tout est possible avec de tels hurluberlus

Donc si j’ai décidé de traiter ce sujet

C’est que je sais à quel point ce dossier est laid

Pas des milliards mais des milliers de milliards manquent

Ce sont NOS revenus détourné dans LEURS planques

En paraphrasant Deneault sur les conséquences

Et en tentant de tout dire en quelques sentences

Pas facile mais je vais bien tenter le coup

Je dois faire un tri je ne peu pas dire tout

Alors quand les écoles se détériorent

Ou encore des milliers sont couchés dehors

Lorsque un viaduc s’effondre sur nos souliers

C’est bien les paradis fiscaux qu’il faut blâmer

Quant les politiques disent serrez ceinture

On va manger des patates sans garnitures

Ils vont imposer mesures d’austérité

Derrière tout ça leur avarice est caché

Mais le plus gros problème avec les offshores

Une chose a mentionner avant de clore

Abris fiscaux facilitent corruption

Permettant aux bandits meilleur déception

Et voilà un survol de ce qu’il faut savoir

Pour en savoir plus lisez Deneault allez voir

J’espère que ma prose soulève intérêt

Depuis longtemps j’y pensais maintenant c’est fait

Traduction française du poème originale en Anglais terminée le 29 décembre 2019

Patrick Collette

Tags: Alain DeneaultPatrick Collettepoemtax havens
Share54TweetSend

Related Posts

Exploring environmental destruction in Louisiana through poetry
Arts & Culture

Exploring environmental destruction in Louisiana through poetry

September 16, 2020

Environmentalists are outraged about the damage to wildlife, fisheries and coastal eco-systems caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig drilling the Macondo...

Canadian corporate assets reach record high in Bermuda and other tax havens
*Opinion*

Canadian corporate assets reach record high in Bermuda and other tax havens

July 26, 2020

The amount of Canadian corporate assets in the top 12 tax havens soared to a new high of $381 billion...

Toilet paper in a time of tax havens: New Brunswick politician calls J.D. Irving’s charity “spam,” tables motion to ban financial assistance to companies that use tax havens [updated]
COVID-19

Toilet paper in a time of tax havens: New Brunswick politician calls J.D. Irving’s charity “spam,” tables motion to ban financial assistance to companies that use tax havens [updated]

May 29, 2020

Lisez la version française ici. On May 27, Kevin Arseneau, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Kent North, tabled a...

COVID-19 shows need for guaranteed income and crackdown on ‘corporate tax dodgers’: MLA Mitton
COVID-19

COVID-19 shows need for guaranteed income and crackdown on ‘corporate tax dodgers’: MLA Mitton

April 29, 2020

New Brunswick Green Party MLA Megan Mitton says although the COVID-19 pandemic has created new problems, it has exposed some...

Load More

Recommended

sisvigil

Sisters in Spirit Vigils to honour missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls on Oct. 4th

8 years ago
A Planned Hit

A Planned Hit

11 years ago

The revolt of the regions: what Quebec and New Brunswick’s election teach us about populism

2 years ago

“Bike Club is full of learning, bike club is full of love:” Building community one ride at a time with the Wil-Doo Community Bike Club

4 years ago
NB Media Co-op

© 2019 NB Media Co-op. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Join/Donate
  • Contact
  • Share a Story
  • Calendar
  • Archives

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Join/Donate
  • Contact
  • Share a Story
  • COVID-19
  • Videos
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Arts & Culture
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Politics
  • Rural

© 2019 NB Media Co-op. All rights reserved.

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In