Freedom Flyer 19

Given that everyone agrees that high taxes in Canada are the main cause of cross-border shopping, what do our politicians come up with to alleviate the problem? Why, more taxes of course!

Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, much to his discredit, has been doing everything politically possible to reduce jobs and to increase the cost of living for Canadians everywhere. Rather than consider cutting spending and lowering taxes to make it possible for Canadians to compete, he has put his support behind a proposal to have the federal government collect provincial sales tax at border crossings so that provincial taxes can be raised by another $90 million per year. (Ottawa pressured on border shopping, Free Press, May 8).

In other words, Bradley would rather see Ontario citizens robbed of another $90 million a year to pay for government-run services that do not deliver what is promised, than see these citizens reap the direct benefit of their hard-earned dollars for things they obviously want to buy.

It is difficult to believe a man elected to represent his constituents would place such a high priority on increasing sales tax by $90 million a year and gasoline tax by $40 million per year at a time when Ontarians have just been walloped by a seven-per-cent federal GST and by a fiscally irresponsible $10-billion deficit budget forced upon them by the provincial Rae government.