I'll be attending a CBC Radio panel discussion on aboriginal affairs tomorrow night, so I won't be able to present to the province's committee reviewing Bill 5; the legislation that will allow cottage owners to defer school tax increases.

However, I did submit a written presentation (click here to view) for committee members to review.

As noted in the presentation, we accept the province's legislation as well-intentioned, but note that it's not acceptable. The province is still ignoring the fundamental problem in the school system - enrolment is down 10% over the past decade while annual operating costs are up 45%. Clearly, that's not a sustainable situation.

Further, school taxes are an archaic form of taxation - one that doesn't take into account ability to pay. After all, unlike income taxes, school tax bills must be paid whether a homeowner just lost his/her job or if a business is on the brink of bankruptcy. We need to move funding for our school system away from a form of taxation (property based taxes) that was developed during ancient Egyptian times towards a general revenue funding formula as other provinces do.