Réseau Pro-Canada Network

tO 904-251 ouest Laurier West Ottawa, Ontario. KiP SJ6 Telephone (613) 233-1764 Fax (643) 232-1458
October 29, 1990 . ,

A_ MESSAGE TO CANADIAN MAYORS AND CIVIC COUNCILS

Dear Colleagues:

Our Country is now into a recession. With its attendant
unemployment, bankruptcies and general hardship, this recession
makes the prospect of the implementation “of the Goods and Services
Tax an even greater concern to Canadians. It is for this reason
that we, Mayors representing municipalities among the largest and
smallest in our Country, are writing to you, our colleagues across
Canada, with an appeal for action on. the GST.

What most alarms and discourages us is that the GST is not only
unfair, hitting low income Canadians the hardest, but it is |
unnecessary. There are other alternatives, from rationalising our
Country's tax system to seeking the revenues to replace the
manufacturers' sales tax from sources now currently under taxed.
What is clear is that this burden should be borne proportionately.
And that it should not be used as a vehicle for plunging our nation
. into an economic quagmire.

Canadians across the Country, and across party lines, have expressed
dismay and anger over the Federal Government's disregard for their
strongly held opposition to this tax. We, Mayors and Councillors,
are the elected representatives with the closest relationship to our

communities. It is incumbent upon us to stand up and represent
their wishes. a ;

We ask you, and/or your Council at its next meeting, to draft a
letter - open to the public - to the Senate asking them, in their
final vote, to defeat the GST, or to the Federal Government urging
it to withdraw this destructive and unfair tax. We encourage you to
consider other actions against the GST, from holding public meetings
with citizen, business and Labour groups in: your community to
sending delegations to Ottawa.

We thank you for your attention and look forward to your action
against the GST.

Sooner &
Brad Cabana John Savage
Mayor of. Dartmouth

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