All levels of government from Ottawa to City Hall have to be effexctively reduced in size and scope  if Canadians have any chance at all of controlling taxes.  The Federal Government has more than 35 ministries  of which at least ten duplicate either themselves or their provicial counterparts.  Federal Ministries  of Agriculture, Environment. Transportation, Health. Justice, Solicitor-General and Homeland Security are prime examples of such monumental waste and duplication in Ottawa!  There are probably others that could be mentiooned for examination and either secvere downsaizing or complete eliminnation such as the IRB, National Dairy Commission and Canadian Wheat Board that stifle our farmers and actively prevent them from being debt free and productive!

Most provinces in Central and Atlantic Canada bar Newfoundland/Labrador are "have not" provinces soley because of crass economic and political incompetence, when dealing with major economic issues like the 2008/2009 "industrial meltdown" of the Auto Sector and the obscene waste of billions of tax dollars to bail out a few jobs in Ontario and Quebec!  All of these provinces plus even those in Western Canada such as Alberta and BC that are still spending like there is no tomorrow  and paying no heed to the future of the Canadian economy and the debt clock now passed way over $500billion! 

Then there are the municipalties that are sucking in billions of dollars of property taxes because their provincial governments have singularly failed to control the property assesment process nor the level of public sector worker wages and glod plated benefits that are 40% higher than those in the Private sector. We should not be paying a crown corporation CEO a salary that is 3-5 times that of the Premier or  a city Clerk earning $280,000 when the mayor and councils combined stipend and expences are less!  Why should a small business have to pay $150,000 in property taxes in Vancouver but only $30,000 in Burnaby or Surrey while  generating the same annual revenues and paying the same wages?  Small wonder that business in BC cannot afford to pay the minimum wage when employers are faced with exhorbitant municipal and payroll taxes!

Is it not time to follow the UK model and operate municipal services at  a more cost effective regional level for all basic services at far less comparative cost than one would pay for those same services provided by a municipal govt with a far smaller tax base!

We Canadians should be very carefully looking at the Swiss Model of fiscal management that is extremely effective at controlling all taxes and government expenditures thanks to its suprb and very enviable constitution and system of totally transparent and accountable government that places the ultimate power of government in the hands of the Swiss through Referendfum. Canadians should hacve the same democratic  and constitutional right rather trust any  self-serving Liberal or NDP politician especially those in Quebec and Ontario!

regards

Bob Tarplett

West Vancouver BC