The fight for lower taxes, less waste, and accountable government is a war of inches. We will not wake up one morning and discover that Canadian governments have suddenly reduced our tax burdens to a tolerable level, eliminated waste and have become fully accountable to the people who elect them.

We can, however, realize small victories along that way which move us closer to the ultimate prize. Like the old proverb says: the journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

There have been some small victories across Canada on the tax front - even right here in Saskatchewan. It's easy to get discouraged, but it's important to take note of incremental gains - no matter how small - and know the fight is not lost.

Over the last few years, thousands of Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) supporters signed petitions calling on Ottawa to increase the Basic Personal Exemption (BPE - the amount of tax-free money we earn) from $8,148 to $15,000. This initiative gives all taxpayers a modest tax break, but it would especially benefit the working poor by removing most minimum wage earners from paying income taxes at all.

It appears the feds have come around to our way of thinking. In the most recent budget, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale announced a plan to increase the BPE to $10,000 by 2009. This will save taxpayers about $16 next year and a $192 by 2009.

Manitoba's most recent budget increased their BPE a smidge, and the middle-income tax bracket will be reduced by half a percentage point. In British Columbia, they cut their sales tax by half a point as well.

Here in Saskatchewan thousands of CTF supporters signed petitions calling for school tax relief and a commission on K-12 funding. We got our commission, which brought us dreaded school board amalgamations and a PST hike but also brought $110 million in school tax relief. Again, the school tax relief offered to date doesn't solve the problem but it shows that if enough pressure is applied, we can squeeze tax savings from government.

As for increasing our BPE in Saskatchewan, our NDP government is saying "no can do." In fact, don't rule out tax or fee increases in the upcoming provincial budget to add to last year's PST hike. The Saskatchewan Party, on the other hand, has embraced increasing the BPE and is calling on the province to match Ottawa's increase. According to Saskatchewan Party figures, increasing the BPE to $15,000 would remove 90,000 Saskatchewanians from paying any income tax at all.

It's a mystery why the NDP desperately clings to taxing the working poor at a higher rate than many other provinces. But a lot of things they do are mysterious.

Sometimes it feels like it's one step forward and two steps back - especially here in Saskatchewan. But it's important to recognize that if taxpayers work hard enough and we make our case to our fellow citizens, we can make gains.

In Saskatchewan we have a government that is openly hostile to the interests of taxpayers. We need to change the behaviour of our government like we're house-training a puppy - offer praise when it does something right and a stern rebuke when it doesn't.

Toss Premier Calvert a bone for very modest school tax relief. For that pee stain of a tax increase last year, he should be thrown out in the cold. Always remember that the most important part of house-training a puppy is diligence and consistency.