It’s one of those funny things that happen during campaigns, when one leader tells an uncomfortable truth about an issue, and the other leaders rush to condemn him or her about it. In this particular incidence, it was Justin Trudeau telling Peter Manbridge that he was less keen on a blanket reduction in small business taxes than he was in tweaking the system, because a “large percentage” of those small businesses are wealthy Canadians using those businesses to pay less tax. And he’s absolutely right about it – particularly after changes were made to the system a few years ago that basically turned it into an income-splitting mechanism for some particularly wealthy Canadians. The Conservatives and NDP, however, are outraged, as they are promising small business tax cuts, the NDP going so far as to demand that Trudeau apologise for “smearing” small businesses – except that they don’t have the facts on their side. The Canadian Press’ Baloney Meter™ checked out Trudeau’s statement, and found it to be true, with minor quibbles about the meaning of “large percentage.” (Trudeau seems to be relying on the studies that say that up to 60 percent of small business filers are problematic). There is also the added contention that another good percentage of these filers aren’t actually job creators, like the Conservatives and NDP keep saying – mom and pop shops aren’t, for example. Economist Kevin Milligan delves further into the issue, and notes that Quebec has been making changes to their small business tax laws to ensure that companies have at least three full-time employees to be eligible – thus ensuring that it’s a “ job creator” and not a couple splitting income or a mom-and-pop shop that has no intention of hiring someone else. It is a problem that needs fixing and not platitudes, and it’s good that at least one leader sees fit to recognise that fact, and has so far stood up for it despite the heat he’s taking.

On the campaign:

• Stephen Harper promised $20 million for the lobster industry (while in a potato warehouse).
• Thomas Mulcair promised 40,000 youth jobs, paid internships and co-op placements over four years.
• Justin Trudeau promised funds for public transit (which is part of his infrastructure programme), and marine coastline protection.
• Here’s the Thursday campaign roundup.

Good reads:

• It looks like the Conservatives are bringing in a campaign fixer from Australia to help them out – and he’s not one without controversy either.
• Kady O’Malley and Alison Crawford pick up on some of the same procedural problems with Mulcair’s Senate pledge that I raised yesterday.
• The government’s planned system for passport renewal invites fraud, forgery and identity theft. Well done, guys. Well done.
• The government has been lapsing funds for refugees – $350 million over three years. Try to look surprised.
• It was the Liberals’ turn to deal with candidates’ old social media quotes, one from a candidate for whom an apology was sufficient, another who stepped down.
• The first in a series, Stephen Saideman imagines what a real Liberal defence platform would look like.
• Andrew MacDougall recalls life on the Conservative campaign.
• Kate Heartfield writes about the importance of door knocking in a campaign.

Odds and ends:

It looks like Patrick Brazeau is going to strike a plea deal in his assault and sexual assault trial. (He still has two other pending trials).

It looks like House of Commons renovations could include MPs being clustered in groups of five rather than in pairs.

Here’s a look at the coming demise of Hy’s, and what it means for political journalism.