The Prince George
Citizen
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6,1991
51 CENTS
(Plus GST)
SURVEY BY INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES
GST called ‘national tax tragedy’
by LARRY WELSH Canadian Press
The GST doesn’t work, it costs small business billions of dollars a year, and up to 100,000 Canadians have lost their jobs because of it, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday.
That probably comes as no surprise to millions of Canadians who get pinched every time they open their wallet, but a federation survey of 25,362 small -and mediumsized companies suggests the tax is strangling the economy.
The survey concludes the seven-per-cent GST will cost business almost $10 billion this year to implement and administer, with small
Firms paying 82 per cent of the bill.
Catherine Swift, the federation’s chief economist, estimates the GST has killed more than 100,000 jobs.
“We are dealing with a national tax tragedy,” said federation president John Bulloch.
The federal government hopes to combine the GST with nine provincial sales taxes, creating a simpler system that eliminates much existing confusion and red tape.
Many provinces have dropped or delayed plans to integrate their tax with the GST.
“What that means is the present GST is just not viable,” explained Bulloch.
Still, will any political party scrap the tax?
Canadians have made their opinions painfully clear — a recent poll found 71 per cent thought the government should abolish the GST.
The federation’s survey found 71 per cent of small firms said the tax has hurt their business.
Millions of consumers are voting with their feet, shopping across the border.
Will politicians listen?
Bulloch thinks they have no choice.
“The GST will be the next big issue it the government doesn’t move quickly as we’ve suggested.”
Privatization pondered
VICTORIA (CP) — B.C. Premier Mike Harcourt suggested Tuesday he would examine the contentious issue of privatization.
But he also said there won’t be a stampede to dismantle what was a cornerstone of the previous Social Credit administration.
Privatization has come under attack by many in the province, including some NDP members when they languished for years on the Opposition benches.
The Socrcds took many government-run agencies and sold them to private interests in the name of privatization.
In the Central Interior, where highway maintenance was priva-
tized in 1989, the handling of contracts has been in the news for several months.
In August, Argo Road maintenance of Kamloops was low bidder, and won the Fort George service area maintenance contract from Yellowhcad Road and Bridge although the new firm had no experience in maintenance.
This sparked controvery in the community, which reappeared again this week when Interior Roads Ltd. of Kamloops was rated as first cho ice for a contract to do highway maintenance in the Robson Valley service area over Yel-lowhead Road and Bridge.
Right-to-die law rejected
by Associated Press
Voters in the state of Washington rejected a “death with dignity” initiative Tuesday that would have been the world’s only law giving terminally ill patients the legal right to kill themselves with a doctor’s help.
The vote was one of dozens of propositions — ranging from legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes to making manufacturers of assualt weapons legally responsible for violence involving their guns — put to state and municipal voters in off-year U.S. elections.
The battle over Initiative 119 in Washington drew worldwide attention. It would have legally sanctioned euthanasia, such as a lethal injection, and assisted suicide, such as prescribing a deadly dose of pills.
With 56 per cent of precincts reporting, 55 per cent of voters were opposed, and 45 per cent were in favor.
State and national medical groups and anti-abortion activists vigorously campaigned against the measure, branding it legalized murder.
Supporters, including the state Democratic party and AIDS activists, called it a long-overdue right.
Only patients determined by two physicians to have less than six months to live and who have made their wishes known in writing could win a doctor’s help in dying.
' But angry taxpayers probably shouldn’t hold their breath, waiting for the Tories to get rid of the GST.
“Their big problem is admitting that they’re ever wrong,” Bulloch said.
Revenue Minister Otto Jelinek made it clear again Tuesday he has no intention of re-thinking the tax and Liberal leader Jean Chretien appears uncertain about what he’d do.
“We have a committee on fair taxation and we are working on alternatives and we have to find money to replace that money,” he has said. “There will be some sales tax on products and perhaps services.
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‘I don’t know, we’re working on that.’’
NDP House leader Nelson Riis provided a crystal clear answer Tuesday: “Yes, we’ll scrap it.”
But he was less certain about how an NDP government would replace the $20 billion gross revenue that the GST is expected to collect this fiscal year.
Bulloch isn’t surprised by politicians’ weasel words about the tax. He believes they see it as a critical issue in the next election.
“I think they’re keeping their quiet counsel, because they’re going to bounce this stuff in the middle of the next election.”
There are a variety of ways to
revamp the GST, but there aren’t any simple solutions.
Scrapping the tax would create a mess, forcing Ottawa to cut equalization payments and the provinces to raise retail taxes.
The federal government could increase income taxes, or introduce different sales taxes, or try a Ja-panese-stylc sales tax, charged at a low rate on almost every single transaction.
Still, Bulloch argues that anything is better than allowing GST chaos to continue.
“We have a problem that’s bigger than politics. We all have a problem in coming up with a solution to this monster.”
BOONE
United Way
Story, page 3
Boone outlines cabinet duties
by PAUL STRICKLAND Citizen Staff
Prince George-Mount Robson MLA Lois Boone has numerous responsibilities as B.C.’s new minister of government services, including overseeing the B.C. Buildings Corporation and the courthouse project in this city.
“I’m really excited about it,” she said. “It gives me a good role to play in the government.”
Premier Mike Harcourt announced Boone’s appointment to the post when he unveiled an 18-member cabinet Tuesday in Victoria.
To create the new ministry, the Harcourt government combined the old Ministry of Provincial Secretary with the Ministry of Government Management Services. “They rolled it into one and called it government management,” Boone said Tuesday from Victoria.
“It includes quite a different number of things, including lotteries, the elections, the Purchasing Commission, protocol and archives,” she explained. “There are a number of smaller areas as well.
“One of the major ones would be government negotiations. That’s something I think is really important.”
Boone’s department will be in charge of negotiations with government employees’ unions.
“One of the initial things will be to fulfil Mike Har-court’s promise of putting lottery funds into health care, which I think we can do to provide a lot of services that we need. That will be a priority for us.”
Boone said she plans to work on numerous proposed changes to the Elections Act.
“We would, of course, be looking at opening up government and making it much more accountable.”
Harcourt made certain the province’s regions and women would be well represented in the new cabinet. His plan was to ensure that Kamloops, the Okanagan, the Kootenays and the Cariboo all had voices at the cabinet table, she said.
“I know he wanted to make sure all regions of the province were represented. That’s a very good philosophy — in keeping with one I was stressing with him when we were talking about cabinet appointments.
“We never discussed personalities, but we discussed regional representation, representation of women on cabinet and all those different things. I think Mr. Harcourt has been able to do that — to distribute the portfolios throughout the province, and also keep a large proportion of women in those roles.”
Boone said that, in general, top-notch people have been appointed to all 18 cabinet positions.
“These arc people who have shown themselves in critic roles as being very knowledgeable in certain areas, and others who have shown that they are very capable in all different areas, and so I think we’re going to be very good job there.
“I think Prince George should be excited because we’ve got a cabinet minister, plus Paul Ramsey was made parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Forests (North Coast MLA Dan Miller).
“I think that’s an exciting thing and something that bodes well for Prince George, because we definitely have to have somebody in the know on forestry issues.”
Ramsey, the First-time NDP MLA for Prince George North, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Mayor John Backhouse shared Boone’s approval of the new cabinet.
“I think it’s a strong cabinet, and a cabinet with a broad range of backgrounds.”
New forestry minister takes cautious route
The forest industry won’t see a lot of quick changes in policies or the way the government does business, new Forest Minister Dan Miller said today.
“We’e going to be very cautious,” Miller said in a telephone interview from Victoria. “The last thing we need to do is make a lot of changes quickly when the industry is going through such tough times.”
Miller said there will be few announcements during at least the First month he’s in office.
The two exceptions he mentioned were deciding on a settlement with Doman Industries settlement for timber rights lost when South Moresby Island was made a park and deciding whether Fletcher Challenge should be allowed to tranfer some of its timber rights to Interior.
Issues like a land use strategy for the province and recommendations from the Forest Resources Commission are going to take a lot of work, and some time, Miller said.
Most forest industry executives contacted were pleased with Miller’s appointment.
“I think Dan will be a good minister, providing he looks at it from the view of what’s good for all of B.C. — the people who work in the industry, the environment, all of us,” said Bob Stewart of Sinclar Enterprises, part owner of Lakeland Mills, The Pas Lumber, L and M Lumber and Apollo Forest Products.
C.T. Hazelwood, president of Northwood Pulp and Timber, agreed.
Low tonight: -1 High tomorrow: 3
Phone:562-2441 Classified: 562-6666 Circulation: 562-3301
Interest rate to drop 6
Floating on the job 10
King gets scholarship 11
Ottawa teen in spotlight 14
Awareness
Students in Nancy Burns’ Grade Four class at Sacred Heart School paint one of six signs that will be displayed in Prince George transit shelters during Drug Awareness Week from Nov. 17 to 23. Wearing T-shirts from Alcohol and Drug Programs, are: (from left to right) Justin Collins, Anne Neault, Kenneth Wipfli, Joseph Savoia, Darcy Marques and Tabitha Turner. The students were also treated to lunch by McDonald’s. The Prince George Substance Abuse Task Force encourages everyone in the community to participate in an awareness event.
INDEX
Ann Landers .... 20
Bridge.................18
Business..............8,9
City, B.C.............2,3
Classified .... 15-19
Comics.................14
Commentary 5
Crossword..............16
Editorial...............4
Entertainment ... 14
Family.................20
Horoscope..............18
International 7
Movies.................14
National................6
Sports..............11-13
Television..............17
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