| An Obituary printed in the London Times
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Showing posts with label citizen watch committee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label citizen watch committee. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
AN OBITUARY to reason -- Good reading from the London times,
Monday, May 04, 2009
Ontario's New tax hike
Nothing is as it seems -doing something about it counts -enough is enough
You are about to become the victim of the largest tax hike in our
history. How will this affect you? Let?s start with just a few things
that are to be charged the extra 8% and see if it will affect you or
your family.
pass it on- awareness is the beginning of real accountability
history. How will this affect you? Let?s start with just a few things
that are to be charged the extra 8% and see if it will affect you or
your family.
-----
As a concerned taxpayer I feel it is important to have you all
understand what the new HST or "blended tax?"means to Ontarians. It
amazes me that this announcement has slipped by without a ripple, and
yet when I tell people about the impact to them they are all shocked.
The intended purpose is to blend the GST and the PST into one tax.This
will cut down the paperwork burden for Ontario businesses and, in
theory, lessen staff by merging both departments. This could be a noble
attempt to cut costs. There is just one problem. Rather than just
blending the products and services that now charge both taxes, the
provincial government has decided that it will apply this new tax to
almost all goods and services that you do not pay PST on now!
You are about to become the victim of the largest tax hike in our
history. How will this affect you? Let?s start with just a few things
that are to be charged the extra 8% and see if it will affect you or
your family.
Gasoline
Home heating fuel
Water
Hydro
Used cars
Government and city services
Any service you now use for your home or business such as repairs,
professional services of any kind, construction materials etc.
These are just a few.
See this article about how the 1000.00 BRIBE they are offering will not
even cover ½ of the increased cost to the average family. This tax hits
Ontarians hard, but ESPECIALLY the low income ones! They will have an 8%
increase in everyday life, and yet you will not see their benefits or
salaries rise.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/269917
Actually almost everything currently without PST in your life except
children's clothing, prescriptions, diapers, and feminine hygiene
products will now cost you 8% more. Oh and here is a kicker. The fuel
tax will slide with the increasing cost of that fuel.
Our premier is counting on taxpayers to do what they always do when a
new tax is added. Nothing! It is very important that you start to
research and discuss this with your friends and family. It is not too
late to stop this if you are willing to do something as send an email to
the premier asking him either to a) stop the tax grab all together or b)
do what was originally intended and blend the tax on the products that
now have both taxes and not to extend the new tax to everything else. If
you just sit there remember you lose the right to complain about taxes
ever again. Get UP and start telling everyone about this injustice and
we can stop this today. Don't think your email will not count. Most MP's
get 10 emails, they consider it a catastrophe!
Send your objection to:
www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp
<http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp
This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com:
Ontario's new tax hike
As a concerned taxpayer I feel it is important to have you all
understand what the new HST or "blended tax?"means to Ontarians. It
amazes me that this announcement has slipped by without a ripple, and
yet when I tell people about the impact to them they are all shocked.
The intended purpose is to blend the GST and the PST into one tax.This
will cut down the paperwork burden for Ontario businesses and, in
theory, lessen staff by merging both departments. This could be a noble
attempt to cut costs. There is just one problem. Rather than just
blending the products and services that now charge both taxes, the
provincial government has decided that it will apply this new tax to
almost all goods and services that you do not pay PST on now!
You are about to become the victim of the largest tax hike in our
history. How will this affect you? Let?s start with just a few things
that are to be charged the extra 8% and see if it will affect you or
your family.
Gasoline
Home heating fuel
Water
Hydro
Used cars
Government and city services
Any service you now use for your home or business such as repairs,
professional services of any kind, construction materials etc.
These are just a few.
See this article about how the 1000.00 BRIBE they are offering will not
even cover ½ of the increased cost to the average family. This tax hits
Ontarians hard, but ESPECIALLY the low income ones! They will have an 8%
increase in everyday life, and yet you will not see their benefits or
salaries rise.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/269917
Actually almost everything currently without PST in your life except
children's clothing, prescriptions, diapers, and feminine hygiene
products will now cost you 8% more. Oh and here is a kicker. The fuel
tax will slide with the increasing cost of that fuel.
Our premier is counting on taxpayers to do what they always do when a
new tax is added. Nothing! It is very important that you start to
research and discuss this with your friends and family. It is not too
late to stop this if you are willing to do something as send an email to
the premier asking him either to a) stop the tax grab all together or b)
do what was originally intended and blend the tax on the products that
now have both taxes and not to extend the new tax to everything else. If
you just sit there remember you lose the right to complain about taxes
ever again. Get UP and start telling everyone about this injustice and
we can stop this today. Don't think your email will not count. Most MP's
get 10 emails, they consider it a catastrophe!
Send your objection to:
www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp
<http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/feedback/feedback.asp
Today, smack dab in the middle of a tsunami of horrible economic news, the Ontario provincial Liberal government has introduced what many will see as a massive tax grab, just when we all can least afford it.
On Canada Day, July 1st, 2010, Ontarians can not only celebrate the birth of their nation, they can also celebrate a new harmonized sales tax system that will pump up the coffers of our provincial government and empty out the pockets of taxpayers.
But don't worry people ... we have elected a compassionate and magnanimous crew down at Queen's Park. They've announced that over a two year period, you'll be receiving three rebate cheques that will total $1,000 as a hand up from your elected officials to help offset the costs you "might" incur due to the sales tax harmonization.
What, pray tell, might those extra costs that you "might" incur be on? That KFC Wrapper you pick up for lunch; your morning cup 'o joe at Timmy's; that newspaper you read; that vet bill you willingly pay for your beloved pet; your prescription drugs; the gas you put in your car; the oil or gas you have delivered to your home to keep you and your family warm; etc. etc.
$166 a year to drink coffee and eat snacks at work;
$156 a year to drive your car;
$72 a year extra to heat your home;
$55 a year to get your hair cut, go out and see a movie and send your clothes to the cleaners;
$33 a year to read The Star;
$50 a year to to prevent pregnancy (The Pill);
These are but a few that I've worked out as a starting point. As you can see, in year 1, we're already over $500 (remember the bribe the Liberals are giving us, that $1,000 rebate cheque spread over two years). As I said, this is only just a starting point and I've used very conservative figures like $20 a month for haircuts, $20 a month for dry cleaning and $10 a month for movies.
Thinking about selling your home? Add about $2,000 to your closing costs.
Thinking about buying a new one? In 2008, the Toronto Real Estate Board said that the average house price was about $404,000. If you were thinking about buying a newly built home for about that much (by the way, best of luck finding one for that price!) you would pay an additional $8,000 in taxes. If you had the gall to up the ante and buy a brand spanking new home for $500,000, instead of it costing you $500K that brand new home would cost you $540,000. In other words, you'd have to pay the full 8% PST, or an additional $40,000.
So tell me, why aren't you bowing down and scrapping your forehead off the floor at the feet of Dalton McGuinty et al thanking them so much for that extra $1,000 rebate cheque (which, by the way also is only for the first two years after implementation, after that its all gravy for the government)? I know my forehead will be clean, and come Oct. 2011 when the next provincial government election happens, I will remember this and remind as many other Ontario voters as I can, thank you very much.
But don't worry people ... we have elected a compassionate and magnanimous crew down at Queen's Park. They've announced that over a two year period, you'll be receiving three rebate cheques that will total $1,000 as a hand up from your elected officials to help offset the costs you "might" incur due to the sales tax harmonization.
What, pray tell, might those extra costs that you "might" incur be on? That KFC Wrapper you pick up for lunch; your morning cup 'o joe at Timmy's; that newspaper you read; that vet bill you willingly pay for your beloved pet; your prescription drugs; the gas you put in your car; the oil or gas you have delivered to your home to keep you and your family warm; etc. etc.
$166 a year to drink coffee and eat snacks at work;
$156 a year to drive your car;
$72 a year extra to heat your home;
$55 a year to get your hair cut, go out and see a movie and send your clothes to the cleaners;
$33 a year to read The Star;
$50 a year to to prevent pregnancy (The Pill);
These are but a few that I've worked out as a starting point. As you can see, in year 1, we're already over $500 (remember the bribe the Liberals are giving us, that $1,000 rebate cheque spread over two years). As I said, this is only just a starting point and I've used very conservative figures like $20 a month for haircuts, $20 a month for dry cleaning and $10 a month for movies.
Thinking about selling your home? Add about $2,000 to your closing costs.
Thinking about buying a new one? In 2008, the Toronto Real Estate Board said that the average house price was about $404,000. If you were thinking about buying a newly built home for about that much (by the way, best of luck finding one for that price!) you would pay an additional $8,000 in taxes. If you had the gall to up the ante and buy a brand spanking new home for $500,000, instead of it costing you $500K that brand new home would cost you $540,000. In other words, you'd have to pay the full 8% PST, or an additional $40,000.
So tell me, why aren't you bowing down and scrapping your forehead off the floor at the feet of Dalton McGuinty et al thanking them so much for that extra $1,000 rebate cheque (which, by the way also is only for the first two years after implementation, after that its all gravy for the government)? I know my forehead will be clean, and come Oct. 2011 when the next provincial government election happens, I will remember this and remind as many other Ontario voters as I can, thank you very much.
This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com:
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Public Water Safety Record Falsified-action requested
Citizen petition for new Brantford By-LawLet it be resolved that any individual or group who falsifies records that impact on the quality of life or safety of the public should immediately be terminated without benefits or recourse.
Citizen Watch Committee - Brant Taxpayers Coalition - March 2009
Please contact your political representative to express your views. Ask the Mayor, councillors for an accounting of the attached water reporting incident and help them make the right decision Contact information is given after the following information article .
Water treatment plant incident raises questions
The following quote is taken from Part II of the Walkerton Inquiry Report at page 5:
"While it is not possible to utterly remove all risk from a water system, the recommendations' overall goal is to ensure that Ontario's drinking water systems deliver water with a level of risk so negligible that a reasonable and informed person would feel safe drinking the water."
I read with interest and concern the report in Saturday's (March 7) Expositor concerning an incident at the Holmedale water treatment plant.
I have also read the column in Tuesday's (March 10) edition by Tim Philp under the heading "City should be ashamed of water secrecy."
The later is an understatement and should raise a number of questions in the minds of city taxpayers:
Who should we believe?
The City's general manager of Engineering and Operational Services, who says: "the memo was a legal opinion on yellow paper, so it was confidential" and "We didn't want to release information until we had a full investigation. It's a staff issue, there are procedures and we have unions here."
The general manager went on to say because the incident was not serious the issue was about how it was reported internally, and not about the safety of the water.
Or ...
The opinion of the assistant city solicitor who says the matter is important "because bacteria and other dangerous substances can attach to the particles." The "particles" are the subject of concern that were released into our water system by mistake and the regulations state that they should rarely exceed 0.3 parts per million and never exceed 1.0 parts per million.
According to the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition system) the incident had recorded readings that "exceeded 1.0" part per million.
It is fortunate that this was discovered as quickly as it was. The operator on duty had failed to enter the above in his log book. In fact the operator on duty had falsified a legal document.
A log book is just that and failing to make accurate entries either by omission or commission is falsification.
Is this the first time an incident such as this has occurred or have there been others that have gone undetected or unreported?
Are the employees at the plant properly trained and do they understand the importance of accurate reporting?
Does the city manager of Engineering and Operational Services fully understand the potential impact that this incident could have had on the city's water system and the health of the citizens of this community?
As a concerned citizen of Brantford I would like to be informed of the outcome of the ministry investigation and be assured that regardless of past practice the management and staff at the City's water treatment plants are held responsible and accountable for the way in which they carry out their duties.
Quite frankly, I find it disturbing that the city manager of Engineering and Operational Service would be more concerned about "staff issues, procedures and unions" than the safety of the citizens of Brantford. I remain reasonable and (hopefully) informed.
Thank you for listening. Doug Foulds Brantford (Article emphasis added)
"While it is not possible to utterly remove all risk from a water system, the recommendations' overall goal is to ensure that Ontario's drinking water systems deliver water with a level of risk so negligible that a reasonable and informed person would feel safe drinking the water."
I read with interest and concern the report in Saturday's (March 7) Expositor concerning an incident at the Holmedale water treatment plant.
I have also read the column in Tuesday's (March 10) edition by Tim Philp under the heading "City should be ashamed of water secrecy."
The later is an understatement and should raise a number of questions in the minds of city taxpayers:
Who should we believe?
The City's general manager of Engineering and Operational Services, who says: "the memo was a legal opinion on yellow paper, so it was confidential" and "We didn't want to release information until we had a full investigation. It's a staff issue, there are procedures and we have unions here."
The general manager went on to say because the incident was not serious the issue was about how it was reported internally, and not about the safety of the water.
Or ...
The opinion of the assistant city solicitor who says the matter is important "because bacteria and other dangerous substances can attach to the particles." The "particles" are the subject of concern that were released into our water system by mistake and the regulations state that they should rarely exceed 0.3 parts per million and never exceed 1.0 parts per million.
According to the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition system) the incident had recorded readings that "exceeded 1.0" part per million.
It is fortunate that this was discovered as quickly as it was. The operator on duty had failed to enter the above in his log book. In fact the operator on duty had falsified a legal document.
A log book is just that and failing to make accurate entries either by omission or commission is falsification.
Is this the first time an incident such as this has occurred or have there been others that have gone undetected or unreported?
Are the employees at the plant properly trained and do they understand the importance of accurate reporting?
Does the city manager of Engineering and Operational Services fully understand the potential impact that this incident could have had on the city's water system and the health of the citizens of this community?
As a concerned citizen of Brantford I would like to be informed of the outcome of the ministry investigation and be assured that regardless of past practice the management and staff at the City's water treatment plants are held responsible and accountable for the way in which they carry out their duties.
Quite frankly, I find it disturbing that the city manager of Engineering and Operational Service would be more concerned about "staff issues, procedures and unions" than the safety of the citizens of Brantford. I remain reasonable and (hopefully) informed.
Thank you for listening. Doug Foulds Brantford (Article emphasis added)
Contact your public representatives to get the answers - it’s your money and safety, tell them to use it wisely and protect your quality of life and water safety.
Public Brantford Representatives
Mayor Mike Hancock 519-759-4150 mhancock@brantford.ca
WARD 1 Councillors Jennifer Kinneman 519-717-3872 jkinneman@brantford.ca
Mark Littell 519-717-0403 mlittell@brantford.ca
WARD 2 Councillors John Sless 519-717-0673 jsless@brantford.ca
Vince Bucci 519-717-0518 mailto:Bucci519-717-0518vbucci@brantford.ca
WARD 3 Councillors Greg Martin 519-754-7269 gmartin@brantford.ca
Dan McCreary519-761-2439 dmccreary@brantford.ca
WARD 4 Councillors Richard Carpenter 519-770-6027 rcarpenter@brantford.ca
James Calnan 519-732-6476 jcalnan@brantford.ca
WARD 5 Councillors Marguerite Ceschi-Smith 519-758-5093 mceschi-smith@brantford.ca
John Bradford 519-755-8255mailto:jbradford@brantford.ca
Provincial representative Dave Levac
Public Brantford Representatives
Mayor Mike Hancock 519-759-4150 mhancock@brantford.ca
WARD 1 Councillors Jennifer Kinneman 519-717-3872 jkinneman@brantford.ca
Mark Littell 519-717-0403 mlittell@brantford.ca
WARD 2 Councillors John Sless 519-717-0673 jsless@brantford.ca
Vince Bucci 519-717-0518 mailto:Bucci519-717-0518vbucci@brantford.ca
WARD 3 Councillors Greg Martin 519-754-7269 gmartin@brantford.ca
Dan McCreary519-761-2439 dmccreary@brantford.ca
WARD 4 Councillors Richard Carpenter 519-770-6027 rcarpenter@brantford.ca
James Calnan 519-732-6476 jcalnan@brantford.ca
WARD 5 Councillors Marguerite Ceschi-Smith 519-758-5093 mceschi-smith@brantford.ca
John Bradford 519-755-8255mailto:jbradford@brantford.ca
Provincial representative Dave Levac
dlevac.mpp@liberal.ola.org
Federal representative Phil Coleman
Federal representative Phil Coleman
McColeman.P@parl.gc.ca
Brantford Press Editors
Expositor John Chambers Editor jchambers@theepositor.ccom Editorial
Brantford.com Greg McMillan Editor http://www.blogger.com/editor@brantford.com
Brantford Press Editors
Expositor John Chambers Editor jchambers@theepositor.ccom Editorial
Brantford.com Greg McMillan Editor http://www.blogger.com/editor@brantford.com
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