Kicking Taxes and Taking Names

Jordan Bateman - Friday, February 3, 2012 - 14:35

A story in the Aldergrove Star caught my eye today, as it examines the negative impact the BC carbon tax is having on greenhouse farmers. Drivers bristle at paying 5.6 cents per litre at the gas pump (soon to be 6.7 cents on July 1), but what these farmers are paying is truly outrageous. From the story:[Marcus Janzen] runs a greenhouse on Townline Road, and has 20 acres of sweet peppers “under glass.” The facility is heated by natural gas.“This year, when the carbon tax rises to $1.50 per gigajoule (from $1.25 now), we’ll spend upwards of $175,000 to $180,000 on the...
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Friends Don’t Let Friends Withhold Information

Derek Fildebrandt - Friday, February 3, 2012 - 14:07

So the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting (let’s just call them ‘Friends’) are a little upset with us for upturning some of their financial dealings with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). We sort of expected that.In their response we were delighted to read that contrary what we had been told by the CBC, “All members of the Friends' Steering Committee gave explicit written permission to the CBC to release the requested information.”This new information made our day, as we therefore expect the CBC to provide us with the 85 redacted pages from the Access to...
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Friends with Benefits: CTF finds Friends of Canadian Broadcasting on the CBC Payroll

Gregory Thomas - Thursday, February 2, 2012 - 07:26

Amongst the many Access to Information (ATI) enquiries we make each year was this tidbit relating to the CBC. Our National Research Director, Derek Fildebrandt got to thinking about the leadership of the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, the group that advocates for more funding for the CBC. “What if these people are actually on the CBC’s payroll?” thought Derek.If it were true, it would go a long way to explaining their passion for public broadcasting. And it would be very, very funny.We finally got our answer, after a long wait. As it turns out, the situation is...
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NDP needs to get serious on MP pensions

- Wednesday, January 25, 2012 - 12:07

So the federal NDP wants a committee to study the $227 million MP pension rip-off.Honestly?What a transparently sleazy method of making the MP pension issue go away for a year or two so MPs can roll up more pension credits.It's an adaption of Jack Layton's "on your side" motto: they've just dropped one letter: now it's "on our side."And get this Canadian Press report:"NDP House Leader Joe Comartin said the NDP doesn't believe the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's calculations are accurate. He said an independent study of MP pensions some 13 years ago found...
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BC: Community Goods and City Halls

Jordan Bateman - Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - 10:50

It’s always interesting to watch people try and twist what we at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation do, in order to create some sort of boogeyman to attack.The latest effort comes from a former Vancouver City Councillor, Gordon Price, who blogged a bizarre and inaccurate rant against me, the CTF, and anyone who dares to want to hold property tax increases to the rate of inflation (I guess that includes Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts, judging by her budget numbers).It is full of inaccuracies and false assumptions about the CTF and my own views on property taxes. So let’s do...
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BC: Falcon Firming On Balanced Budget

Jordan Bateman - Monday, January 23, 2012 - 09:24

Could the BC Government’s “Action Man” be back? Finance Minister Kevin Falcon—tagged during last year’s BC Liberal leadership campaign as the “guy who gets it done”—is just one month out from his first-ever budget. Over the past few months, we’ve seen Falcon at press conferences, looking concerned as revenues dipped, quarterly deficits ballooned, and the reality of life-after-HST set in. But the Globe and Mail reported yesterday that Falcon thinks he is on track to balance the budget in 2013-14, as the BC Liberals promised through legislation passed two years...
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Class of 06' Qualifies for Pensions Today

Derek Fildebrandt - Monday, January 23, 2012 - 07:55

Today, 39 MPs will join an exclusive club of Canadians eligible for the best pension plan on the planet. These 39 MPs were first elected on January 23, 2006, meaning that as of today, they are vested and eligible to withdraw.These MPs will be eligible to collect $1,927,000 in annual pensions by the time of the next federal election in 2015, in addition to $1.8 million in one-time severance payments.By the (hypothetical) 2019 election, these pension payouts will cost $2,732,000 annually in addition to $1.1 million in one-time severance payments.Included in the newly...
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Tax Dollar Tower

Colin Craig - Friday, January 20, 2012 - 13:12

Staff at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights - a new federal museum in Winnipeg, apparently think it's a "disservice" to taxpayers for us to critique the fact the museum leaves out important details when it reports the cost of the museum to the public.You see, in December, it was reported that the cost of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights had climbed from $310 million to $351 million (Note: when the government initially approved the project, it was expected to cost $265 million.)If only that were true.The Black Rod Blog pointed out that the figure did not...
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BC Weekend Wrap: Municipal Net-Zero, Magazines on the Dole, and Politician Perks

Jordan Bateman - Friday, January 20, 2012 - 13:04

It’s Friday, so time for our usual week-end wrap-up.Story 1: 24 Hours columnist Daniel Fontaine has echoed our call for a net-zero negotiating mandate for municipal employees. From his piece yesterday:The reality is if politicians don’t put a lid on labour costs in this new collective agreement, they will be digging even deeper into your pocket in the months to come.Yet to date not a single civic politician in Metro Vancouver seems prepared to say they support a 0% pay increase.This position contrasts starkly to what we’re witnessing in Victoria as the province enters...
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BC: $8,960 for Premier's Year-End Video

Jordan Bateman - Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 16:49

Just before Christmas, Premier Christy Clark released a year-end video on YouTube, highlighting her government’s accomplishments in 2011, and looking forward to 2012. For a YouTube video, it was very slickly produced, with nice music, soft lighting, and great transitions. It was also posted on her Facebook page.But the CTF is more interested in the steak than the sizzle. We wanted to know what the video cost to be produced, so we filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to find out the details. (See the FOI response for yourself here.)Hogan Creative billed...
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Canada's Federal Debt

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The federal government is adding $88 million a day to our debt. At this rate, the $105-billion in debt repayment between 1997 – 2008 will be wiped out this year. Support our campaign for a federal balanced budget law and help us STOP this clock.

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