Sanaa Lh a... Canada New study reveals magnitude of Tories’ six-year tax grab OTTAWA—The federal government's “tax reforms” since 1984 have made the Tich richer and the majority of Canadians far worse off, according to a recent study by Neil Brooks, a professor of tax law a Toronto’s Osgoode Hall. Released Nov. 13 by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the study calls for a shift away from the Tories’ policy of undertaxing the wealthy and corporations toward a fair and reasonable System that would share the tax burden more equitably. “Raising an adequate amount of revenue to finance government services requires taxing all sectors of the economy, including the rich and corporations,” says Brooks. “The present morally unacceptable distribution of wealth in Canada threatens our basic democratic values. It is one of our most serious social problems because unless economic power is more widely dispersed, it is futile to attempt to resolve other social problems.” He dismisses all the arguments of the Mulroney government and the business community that the tax changes made over the past six years were necessary to encourage investment and promote Canada’s intemational competitiveness. “The experience in many Westem European countries,” Brooks points out, “proves that social justice and truly progressive tax system are not incompatible, but are in fact complementary with economic growth that benefits everyone.” He lists several specific reforms that would not only make our tax system fair, but would also generate enough additional revenue to improve Canada’s social programs and greatly reduce our unacceptably high poverty levels. ‘The present morally unacceptable distribution of wealth in Canada threatens our most basic democratic values.’ — Neil Brooks He recommends, among other measures, raising the top income tax rates, closing all tax loopholes for corporations, and imposing both a net wealth tax and a wealth transfer tax. He notes that Canada and Australia are the only two countries in the industrialized world that don’t tax wealth when it changes hands. Brooks recalls that when the Tories took power federally in 1984, the corporations demanded tax changes that would shift the burden from high-income individuals and companies to low-and-middle-income Canadians. “And the Mulroney government has complied with their request. “Big business now wants spending programs that benefit low- and middle-income Canadians to be cut back. But the most inefficient and inequitable spending programs are those delivered through the tax system to benefit almost exclusively big business and the rich. Those are the spending programs that should be cut back.” Brooks admits that fair and responsible tax reform will not be easy, noting that the powerful interests that have benefited from the most recent tax changes have become even more powerful as a result. “They will continue to resist the idea that the government must collect taxes equitably. They will continue to try to send the bill for government spending, which benefits them enormously, to the low- and middle-income families of Canada. However, tax reform to raise revenue and to remove inequalities is not a choice in a democratic society. It is a necessity.” REGINA — One hundred young workshops, debates, popular education sessions, an anti-GST protest, and wrapped up by forming a youth component of the province’s Coalition for Social Justice. April Bourgeois, one of the Youth Action Congress volunteer organizers, called the event a success in spite of the problems of bringing together a diverse group of participants and issues. Nearly Young people here playing a bigger part in determining their future. half the delegates were from outside from both aboriginal and farm youth, as students. One of the event’s highlights was a rally at the office of Regina-Wascana’s Tory member of parliament, Larry Schneider, as part of the cross-Canada people from across Saskatchewan spent the Remembrance Day long weekend in SSAA SESSA ast MeN appear well on the way to EEE ea peers ee Re Regina. There was strong representation well as urban high school and university “Recall Day” against the GST. For some Saskatchewn youth back coalition of the young people, it was a first experience of common action with trade unionists, anti-poverty organizers and others, and particularly effective for being one of dozens of similar demonstrations held Nov. 10. _ Delegates also had the chance to learn from each other and from invited speakers. The opening day’s panel on youth issues and the ensuing workshops, followed by a session on human rights, gave many of the young people a new perspective; whether it meant hearing about the human impact of the farm crisis on teenage life, what it feels like to grow up as a Native youth in a racist society, or what problems are faced by people because of their sexual orientation. Members of the National Farmers Union youth section played a strong role in the gathering, helping to build unity at a time when the provincial Tory government is once again trying to split Kimball Cariou FROM REGINA the population on urban/rural lines in preparation for an election. Another major theme of the weekend was the environment. Not surprisingly, strong fears about the future of the planet were shared by all the delegates, who discussed some of the environmental issues closest to : Saskatchewan, such as the Rafferty Dam and uranium mining, as well as the larger questions of how to organize society to change the situation. In addition to establishing a “Youth Action Steering Committee” to plan any further activity and to co-ordinate involvement in the Saskatchewan Coalition for Social Justice, the delegates agreed to initiate a newsletter for youth activists. As Saskatchewan continues its slide downward to becoming one of the poorest provinces in Canada, young people here appear well on the way to playing a bigger part in determining their future. 6 * Pacific Tribune, November 26, 1990 Toronto vote backs gay rights decision Just four hours before Toronto city councillors voted in favour of declaring Lesbian and Gay Pride Day (LGPD), the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) decided not to proceed with a discrimination complaint against the mayor for refusing to recognize LGPD. In a surprise decision, the city of Toronto decided to declare the last Sun- day in June Lesbian and Gay Pride Day. The day has been celebrated by gay com- munities in the West for over a decade, but gaining official recognition from municipalities has been difficult. By a vote of 9 to 5 councillor Nadine Now- lan’s motion effectively resolved a five- year battle between the lesbian and gay community in Toronto and Mayor Art Eggleton on Nov. 14. City council’s decision represents “a slap in the face to the OHRC and to Mayor Art Eggleton,” Kyle Rae, the gay community activist who lodged the discrimination complaint with the OHRC, told the Tribune. Earlier in the day, the OHRC had an-™ nounced its long-awaited decision not to Proceed to a board of inquiry in the case wi against the mayor and city council fornot declaring Pride Day in 1988. “Clearly the OHRC does not understand the prin- ciples of human rights as they relate to the gay and lesbian community,” said Rae. In amedia release dated Nov. 15, the LGPD committee called on Elaine Ziem- ba, the Minister Responsible for Human Rights, “to dismiss the members of the Commission and appoint new officers who are competent in applying human rights principles to all minorities equal- ly.” 4 “There is a very good chance that will happen,” Rae said. “Anyone who’s had anything to do with the Commission knows it’s in a complete shambles — it’s dominated by a legal bureaucracy that chose to provide an irrelevant legal argu- ment rather than a human rights argu- ment in exonerating the mayor.” To date, Vancouver is the only other city in Canada that has officially recog- nized the day since 1981. Last spring, Ottawa’s gay community thought they had a victory when the city agreed to declare June 17 Lesbian and Gay Pride Day. But councillors later res- cinded their decision when they realized it was Father’s Day. The gay community took the city to court and won, but then the judge retracted saying, he had made a mistake. The dispute is now at the re- trial stage. “The truth is,” said Rae, “that gay issues perplex the justice system, they just don’t know what to do with them, they cannot get it through their head that we are.a community.” He added that the problem lies in the federal government’s long-standing failure to amend the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to in- clude sexual orientation in the clause pro- hibiting discrimination.