An article in the Walrus talks about the financial decline of Canada's economic hub. Though Toronto remains a vibrant, diverse and exciting place to live, poor economic and structural decision making have left the city with a crumbling infrastructure, service cuts, and traffic congestion that is creating frustration for everyone. With the current Mayor's decision to cut several tax-based sources of revenue and to instead further slash programs and infrastructure the solutions to the City's woes are nowhere in sight.
As revenues decline and services are on the brink of being cut, a Toronto city councilor is suggesting the city add a 1% sales tax, or preferably that a portion of HST revenue be directed towards municipalities. Councillor Shelly Carroll has pointed out that her suggestion comes from talking to local constituents who want to see important services maintained without relying solely on property taxes. Read more in the Toronto Sun.
At UBCM, local municipal leaders were outspoken in their criticism of the province's plan to introduce a Municipal Auditor General. Most are baffled as to why the idea was introduced in the first place as there are no outstanding cases of corruption, overspending or misuse of funds at the local level. They feel the plan "smacks of paternalism" and are critical of the amount of staff time - covered by municipalities, to participate in the audits. Local leaders felt bullied into accepting the concept, fearing not doing so would exclude them from any provincial decision on setting up office.
A group of France's wealthiest citizen's is acting upon Warren Buffet's suggestion that the rich pay more tax. Sixteen company executives, business leaders and "wealthy citizens" are calling for a "special contribution" from the country's wealthiest citizens. Read more in the Vancouver Sun.
Currently municipalities receive 10 cents for every dollar collected in gas taxes, but the Globe and Mail suggests that many municipal woes - from traffic congestion to crumbling infrastructure, would be fixed if the full amount were transferred. At present, "traffic congestion in the Greater Toronto Area alone costs the economy $3.3-billion in lost productivity." Improvements to public transit would improve commuting times and create happier and healthier communities.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) has released a commentary questioning the legitimacy of the BC Government's carbon neutral policy.
Since 2010, government policy has required all BC public institutions, from schools to hospitals to be carbon neutral. To reach this goal public institutions are forced to purchase carbon offsets from Pacific Carbon Trust, a crown corporation. In 2010 BC schools paid out nearly $4.5 million in offsets, while the public health authorities paid $5.4 million.
All public bodies in BC, including schools and hospitals are required to pay carbon offsets if they are not carbon neutral. These offsets are paid to the BC Crown Corporation the Pacific Carbon Trust (PCT). On the PCT website are a number of projects that benefit private companies. Encana is just one of them. Encana will likely receive a subsidy to the tune of $20 million.
The governing NDP in Manitoba is promising a 1% transfer of the PST to municipalities. This stable source of funding will provide municipalities an extra $33 million in next year's budget. Some say it's not enough. Read more at the CBC.
A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) and Sierra Club BC states that the BC carbon tax is "revenue-negative" and increases social inequality. It argues that instead of funding corporate tax cuts, revenues from the tax should be spent on climate change investments such as public transportation and green job creation.
