Last week was Family Day in B.C., so we skipped the Monday Morning QB feature. But we’re back, and here’s the five things we’re thinking about this week:
1. A couple of weeks after reading that crossborder traffic into the United States was at 15-year high (15.4 million crossed into Whatcom County alone), Fraser Institute guru Mark Milke answers why things are so much cheaper in the U.S.: taxes and tariffs:
For example, ice hockey gloves are subject to a duty of 16.5 per cent, while ice hockey pants are subject to an 18 per cent duty. This is why it is helpful to think of a tariff on imported goods as a tax.
After all, imagine if Ottawa imposed a visible 18 per cent sales tax on all your kids’ hockey equipment. But that tax is there; it’s just not visible on your receipt.
One caveat: As the Senate report notes, in 2010, 90 per cent of goods that entered into Canada came duty free. However, of the $3.6 billion the federal government collects in tariffs every year, 60 per cent of that comes from tariffs applied to apparel and textile products, automobiles, auto parts and footwear.
The States also has Target and Trader Joe’s. Just sayin’.
2. Shame on PavCo, the B.C. government agency tasked with running B.C. Place and the Vancouver Convention Centre, for trying to stop journalist Bob Mackin from filing Freedom of Information requests. Bob, if this sticks, has a promise from us to file any FOI at PavCo he wants. And if they blacklist us, we’ll find hundreds of citizens willing to put their names on a request for Bob.
3. Vancouver City Hall continues its blind quest to fund anything bike related by pouring $50,000 into bicycle helmet vending machines. It’s part of a $1.9 million annual bike share boondoggle soon to hit Vancouver streets.
4. That same green regime took a blow to its ego last week when its much vaunted Home Energy Loan Program couldn’t draw flies – and cost taxpayers $100,000. I think article commenter Brian P. summed up our feelings on this one:
The City should stick to garbage collection, police, fire rescue, development planning, issuing building permits, road maintenance, infrastructure, parks, etc., and stay away from social engineering experiments like this waste of taxpayers' money.
Yes, please!
5. Will this be the week the Auditor General releases his report into the Pacific Carbon Trust? We hope so! In the meantime, trust in the Trust continues to plummet.
Is Canada Off Track?
Canada has problems. You see them at gas station. You see them at the grocery store. You see them on your taxes.
Is anyone listening to you to find out where you think Canada’s off track and what you think we could do to make things better?
You can tell us what you think by filling out the survey