Hi Ed,
Sorry for the late reply. Had flu. From what I've heard, Ontario's HST policy should not have been used as a model for BC's structure. I don't know the reasons, but two I can think of are the fact we rely on tourism more than any province, and the second would be the high rate of child poverty. I just reviewed a long list of HST taxable items that I won't be duplicating, but the ones that result in a tax on the poor and on education, the arts and recreation are blatant: funeral services massage therapy over-counter meds and vitamins shoe repair used clothing disposable diapers snacks restaurant meals first aid kits, smoke detectors food producing plants alcoholic beverages, all nicotine products newspapers, magazines certain school supplies movie tickets sports events tickets ballet, karate, soccer, hockey lessons live theatre tickets bicycles and sports safety helmets gym and athletic membership music concerts, museums and art galleries veterinary services taxis, hotel rooms, camping sites new homes over 525 K--a big deal here Energy Star Windows, Thermal insulation moving services rent collected all home heating energy and fuel residential phone lines landscaping, lawn care, snow removal, house cleaning real estate repair maintenance household appliance repairs Don't know if this differs much from Ontario, if at all, but add 7% to any of these and you get quite a dent in seniors and poor and working poor incomes. Natalia On 11/6/2010 7:03 AM, Ed Weick wrote: > Good morning, Natalia > My family moved from the prairies to BC in the late 1940s, so I'd been > quite familiar with snow in growing up. What I recall of the BC of the > 1950s is that it was booming. I was a student at UBC at the time and > was very left-wing in my views. Bennett, a Socred, and very right > wing, represented everything I disliked about politicians. > I now have to give him more credit than I did then. He ran the > province quite well and had a big hand in developing major > infrastructure such as the Bennett Dam and the BC ferry system. > However, the 1950s were very different times. > I left BC in 1957 and took a job in Ottawa. I thoroughly enjoyed the > snow we have here because I was an avid downhill skier. Now that my > legs have deserted me and I no longer head for the hills, I enjoy it less. > I have trouble understanding BC's hostility to the HST. We have the > HST here and there's been no great groundswell of uprising against it. > I know from things I've read over the past few years that BC's > hospitals and schools are not in very good shape and need a lot of > improvement. However, being an expatriate, I no longer really > understand what is going on there. > Ed > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Darryl or Natalia <mailto:[email protected]> > *To:* RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION > <mailto:[email protected]> > *Sent:* Friday, November 05, 2010 7:20 PM > *Subject:* Re: [Futurework] Fish Lake update > > Hi Ed, > > Darryl and I didn't make it out here till late 2002. > > Better late than never, but despite the politics, the weather and > environmental beauty make it worth all inconveniences. We don't > even have mosquitoes down in Victoria. > > So, having lived here, why are you still putting up with snow? > > But, how did Bennett change things? > > Natalia > > > > On 11/5/2010 4:51 AM, Ed Weick wrote: >> Good morning, Natalia >> Were you living in BC during the premiership of WAC "Whacky" >> Bennett (1952-1972)? I was a student at UBC in the 50s and don't >> have fond memmories of how the province was run at the time. >> Ed >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> *From:* Darryl or Natalia <mailto:[email protected]> >> *To:* RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION,EDUCATION >> <mailto:[email protected]> >> *Sent:* Thursday, November 04, 2010 5:23 PM >> *Subject:* Re: [Futurework] Fish Lake update >> >> On a larger scale, even better news. Gordon Campbell resigned >> yesterday as both Premier of BC and Leader of the Liberal Party. >> >> He won't be completing his 3rd term, supposedly because >> people have been unable to focus on all the good things he's >> done for the economy because they hate him so much. >> >> It's quite remarkable that just a few days back he'd >> announced a huge tax break for everyone, but it was to ease >> the well-deserved flak from introducing the HST tax he >> claimed wasn't even on the radar at last election time. >> Voters expressed their desire for an immediate referendum to >> the tune of about 17% with signatures, and Campbell said >> fine, but not yet--we reserve the right to put it to a vote >> in the Fall of 2011, the time of the next election. Meanwhile >> BC will be banking the tax to make the books look good. The >> tax threatens so many small businesses, but worst still, it >> impacts seniors, the working classes, and the most >> vulnerable. Any way, his tax break announcement was met with >> an irritatingly lower approval rating than before, people >> knowing he'd have to cut from vital programs to make the tax >> breaks possible. >> >> He's been one of the luckiest sleazy politicians to date. >> Privatization of services, wholesale of old growth forests >> and waterways, mining, Olympics expense and fallout, a >> railroad sale scandal which I think has more to do with this >> resignation than is being revealed. >> >> Anything at all good happening since the Mid-terms? What do >> you foresee? >> >> Natalia >> >> On 11/4/2010 12:25 PM, Ray Harrell wrote: >>> >>> Hooray for Canada! It’s wonderful that all of the news isn’t >>> bad. >>> >>> REH >>> >>> *From:*[email protected] >>> [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of >>> *Darryl or Natalia >>> *Sent:* Thursday, November 04, 2010 2:59 PM >>> *To:* RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION >>> *Subject:* [Futurework] Fish Lake update >>> >>> Michael probably heard, but Ray, or other non-Canadian >>> residents, may be not: >>> >>> Natalia >>> >>> >>> Council of Canadians celebrates federal government >>> decision on Fish Lake >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >>> >>> OTTAWA, Nov. 2 /CNW/ - The Council of Canadians is >>> celebrating the federal government decision to reject the >>> Prosperity mine project. The Environment Canada news release >>> states that "the Prosperity mine project as proposed, near >>> Williams Lake, cannot be granted federal authorizations to >>> proceed due to concerns about the significant adverse >>> environmental effects of the project." >>> >>> The Council congratulates the Tsilhqot'in whose campaign to >>> protect the lake drew the attention of groups across the >>> country to this very important issue. >>> >>> Environment minister Jim Prentice highlighted the findings >>> of the federal review panel in his decision. Council of >>> Canadians water campaigner Meera Karunananthan and BC-Yukon >>> organizer Harjap Grewal presented to this federal panel on >>> March 22. The Williams Lake chapter also presented to the >>> panel earlier that day. On September 7, 2010, the Council of >>> Canadians delivered 15,000 petitions opposing the Prosperity >>> mine project to Prentice's office on Parliament Hill. >>> >>> If the project had been approved, it would have resulted in >>> the destruction of Fish Lake, also known as Teztan Biny. >>> Taseko had proposed using Fish Lake as a tailings >>> impoundment area for Prosperity mine, a gold-copper mining >>> project. >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Futurework mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> _______________________________________________ >> Futurework mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Futurework mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
