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Kicking Taxes and Taking Names

Just when you thought the BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) could bungle no more, it bungles again. Not only is its online gambling sited screwed up from day one, the screw ups at its casinos just never seem to end. All this shows there is no way the government should be expanding BCLC's reach into online gambling. On the day the new government online site opened, it had to be shut down because some people were able to play using other peoples' money - and you thought only the government could do that!What are a few of the other problem ? Well, to create the illusion that...
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According to government documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, another inmate has mistakenly been released from a Manitoba jail. The documents show four inmates have now been mistakenly released this year, up from three in June.After the June story broke, we filed freedom of information requests with the province for historical information on the number of accidentally released inmates and disciplinary action as a result. While we were told information on disciplinary measures couldn't be released as it was "confidential," we did learn the...
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A few weeks ago, I became one of the thousands of Winnipeggers to have their car broken into. WhileI was saddened to see the shattered glass and the empty space where my GPS system used to be, Iwas equally saddened I could no longer boast “my car has never been broken into”. But after I sweptout the glass, I figured, ‘hey, I guess that’s what my car insurance is for, right?’. Well, not exactly…After making a claim with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), I called multiple glass shops until I found onethat could do the repairs that day – a Saturday. As a poor student who...
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Today the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, Provincial Council of Women (Manitoba), Manitoba Association for Rights and Liberties and the Canadian Association of Journalists had a meeting with Premier Greg Selinger.So what could possibly bring us all together? The incredibly sexy topic of transparency in government.Yes, it's not the most exciting topic in the world, but ensuring that citizens have access to government information is an important part of any healthy democracy. After all, it helps journalists, advocacy groups such as ours, members of the public ...
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While preparing recent analysis on the cost of the criminal element to Manitoba taxpayers, I filed an FOI with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority(WRHA) to find out how much is spent each year on treating those that have been shot or stabbed.Unfortunately, while the WRHA had data on the number of stabbing & shooting victims it helps each year, it was not able to provide an estimate on the cost of providing assistance to the individuals.In the response, the WRHA notes that the numbers provided represent both intentional and unintentional...
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I think the government got the story wrong - they shouldn't be bragging about having "another" social housing unit to have to renovate...signs should go up when there's something to celebrate. Such as "Another social housing unit for sale due to a lack of demand"...  
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The Telegraph Journal is reporting that the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is eying an office in Halifax in order to establish a regional pressence as Atlantic Canada's taxpayer watchdog. As a CTF director, I know nothing about this (...) but in the spirit of injecting some excitment into Atlantic Canada's political sphere, I've included a video from a great Canadian west-coast band that seems pretty east-coast. As the CTF is moving from west-to-east, this seems appropriate.For all you Atlantic Canadians (still out east or exciled westward), please consider...
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Derek Fildebrandt - Tuesday, July 20, 2010 - 14:29
An edited version of the following article appeared in the Winter 2009 edition of The Taxpayer. Since this article's publishing, Parliament has taken steps to limit the practice of "10 percenters." What is another word for ‘free money’ on Parliament Hill?  ‘Taxpayer money’, ‘your money’, ‘not my money’ are all fair synonyms.  It’s therefore not surprising when MPs vote themselves all sorts of perks, but many are little understood or even known about by the public. One perk that has become somewhat more public as of late are “10 percenters.”  In...
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The City of Winnipeg recently released a report containing salary information for employees earning more than $50,000 per year. Known as the "Compensation Disclosure" report, the City is required under provincial law to disclose the information to the public each year. However, as the City recently noted in the Winnipeg Sun that it had a "storage issue" and couldn't keep previous reports online, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation requested the electronic versions for previous years and received them in no time at all (kudos to the City for the quick response...
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Two thumbs up to Marty Gold for doing some digging into MPI's recent announcement to sell its surplus building to Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre.According to Marty Gold, the donation of MPI's surplus building on King St. was no small contribution - it reportedly has an assessed value of $1.2 million. Ideally, if MPI has a surplus asset, it should be sold off and the funds used to fulfill MPI's mandate - providing low-cost vehicle insurance to Manitobans. Critics may argue that selling off the asset may have only reduced premiums by a couple dollars per vehicle, but...
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