Comments on: Canada: The Welfare Recipient Nation

By: Hammertoe

Hammertoe — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 17:47:42 +0000

I think the majority of this board should go to Iraq hand out a bunch of bibles and convert them into good obeying systems of governance.

By: Les

Les — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:31:27 +0000

how is it that other towns stay in a constant state of repair and survive for hundreds of years on municipal taxation but reserve towns fall into disrepair as a standard?

I just don’t understand how a fully functional town can be turned into a pile of dogshit in 10-15 years when some native reserves actually flourish… Maybe we should be looking at the failed towns as not being able to govern themselves and actually do something… but that would be colonialism, no?

By: stageleft

stageleft — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 16:14:06 +0000

If Keeshechewan came into being like the majority of northern communities did - that being the government decided where a town should be built and forcing people to move there whether the people thought that was a good location or wanted to go or not - then the government does in fact have a responsibility to do something about their mistake.

By: George Freeman

George Freeman — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:08:44 +0000

Screw equalization!

Should Harper ever get a workable majority, or in an ideal world anyway, the Government of Canada should slash its rates of personal income tax, followed up with across-the-board rollback from provincial areas of jurisdiction.

Let the provinces raise their own money for their own social programs. The Federal Government’s share of taxation, be it resource wealth and apart from personal income tax, should be more than enough to pay for what it should actually be doing: national defence, foreign affairs, trade and commerce, and Indians.

Honestly, the biggest single issue that should piss off Conservatives in this country is that government is redundant and Canadians are taxed to death.

Once a federal government slashes taxes and rolls out of provincial jurisdiction, provinces will be more accountable for their own money, and only then will there be a TRUE picture of ACTUAL regional disparity.

All said, it will take time to give more autonomy to the provinces, to unravel the post-War mess of Federal Government dependency.

By: markpeters

markpeters — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 11:39:12 +0000

Hence the reason I think equalization payments should be the vehicle for solving the fiscal imbalance. No more lump sum payouts! EP expenditures should also be limited to specific areas; provinces should not be able to do whatever they wish with the money.

RE construction of a new town for natives. Many towns in Newfoundland, the province of my birth and heritage, need reconstruction work. How is it that only the native can get a brand new town every 10-15 years?