Kris Sims was one of the few people who did not before B.C.91Ƶs Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services to ask for money.
The nine-person committee is currently touring the province, collecting public input in advance of the next provincial budget, and Sims, the B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, drove from the Fraser Valley to Cranbrook, where the dommittee was in session Thursday.
She came armed with a top 10 list of items the CTF and its 15,000-strong B.C. membership wanted to see.
1. Balance the budget. 91ƵIf there91Ƶs one thing that gets our supporters riled up, getting people writing letters to the editor and calling talk radio stations, they say 91ƵBalance our budget.91Ƶ They don91Ƶt like to see deficits, they don91Ƶt like to see province going further into debt, because they know what it does to their own household.91Ƶ
2. Cancel the B.C. carbon tax. 91ƵPeople are fed up with it,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵAnd top of that we found out during the last mini-budget that it91Ƶs not even going to revenue-neutral anymore, and it hasn91Ƶt been revenue neutral for several years. The Fraser Institute, one of our colleagues, found that the previous government had been taking old tax credits 91Ƶ years old 91Ƶ and adding them to the balance sheet of the current budget, for the carbon tax, to make it look balanced and neutral. It wasn91Ƶt. It was costing families $800 a year.91Ƶ
3. Eliminate the Medical Services Plan premium: 91ƵWe were very happy to see the MSP cut by 50 per cent by the previous government,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵAnd this new government to finishing it off 91Ƶ eliminating it 100 per cent.91Ƶ
4. Stop raiding Crown Corporations: 91ƵIf you91Ƶve got a budget shortfall, don91Ƶt turn around and scoop money out of places like ICBC and BC Hydro,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵWe are ratepayers for those services, and when we see our money going to things other than auto insurance and hydro prices and just being used to paper over a budget shortfall, that really ticks people off.91Ƶ
5. On ICBC: 91ƵWe think it needs an overhaul, not just a tune-up,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵWe think ICBC should be turned into a co-op. Turn it into something like Mountain Equipment Co-op or VanCity. Make it owned by B.C. drivers, so if you choose to take your basic auto insurance out with this nice new ICBC co-op, you can do that. And then open that co-op up to private competition from other companies. So if you91Ƶre a great driver, you can shop around and get a lower rate.91Ƶ
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6. Don91Ƶt kill the Site C dam: 91ƵWe say this with cautions,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵBy now, we91Ƶre in it. When we asked our supporters, they said don91Ƶt kill it, be as stringent and prudent and careful as possible, but we91Ƶve invested so much money in it now, better to see it through. 91Ƶ If we bail out now, BC Hydro at least is saying that it will cost $7 billion.91Ƶ
7. Get government contracts, including boards and councils, under control. 91ƵOne of the heads of TransLink makes more than the Prime Minister of Canada, as does her second-in-command,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵThere are tons of boards like this, and they91Ƶre basically permanent government. People don91Ƶt hear about them or know about them, they91Ƶre not elected, but they91Ƶre paid an outrageous amount of money.91Ƶ
8. Eliminate the vote tax: 91ƵThe government has imposed a transition fund 91Ƶ a vote tax of $16 million that91Ƶs coming out of taxpayers91Ƶ pockets,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵWhen you break it down per vote it doesn91Ƶt sound like a lot of money. But most people don91Ƶt want their tax dollar going to a lawn sign or an attack ad. If you91Ƶre running for any political party, raise your own money.91Ƶ
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9. Don91Ƶt block the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion: 91ƵWe understand there are concerns,91Ƶ Sims said. 91ƵWe also understand the Trudeau Liberal government has approved it, and that lots and lots of people and lots of boards have reviewed this. If we rely on these important economic engines of our economy, and we allow them to continue things like Kinder Morgan, it helps the tax base.91Ƶ
10. Reduce spending and lower taxes: 91ƵThe men and women on the pre-budget committee are getting swamped with spending requests. We91Ƶre there to say stop. Cut your spending, and reduce our taxes. And as far as we can tell, we among the only people going to these meetings saying, 91ƵPlease stop!91Ƶ91Ƶ
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation came into being as a response to the implementation of the goods and services tax in 1990.