Dear Editor,
The latest estimate for the new Tiny Township administrative building is $28M. This amount must be borrowed and repaid with INTEREST, bringing the total PROJECT taxpayer cost closer to $50 million in addition to the current 3-year 26% tax increase
Council, and concerned residents continue to be at odds; with heated, emotional and heartfelt exchanges during Council meetings. The INTENT of the residents is their desire to scale back and consider less expensive options to improve township office conditions. Many Township homeowners are on limited income and are already struggling financially
Not everyone receives cost of living increases while costs of EVERYTHING and taxes keep going up. We live in serious economic times, in a post COVID world, which saw many people’s savings being severely depleted and debts rising. Concerned residents, want Council to be more understanding, compassionate, realistic and to consider less expensive approaches.
Council repeatedly comes across as not caring, not listening, moving forward way too fast, without public understanding of “why”. In addition, Council does not have a “clear” mandate to proceed with such a huge, opulent, expensive building. This has accelerated anger, frustration, and despair. Council’s unwillingness to listen to residents, to take deputations seriously, lack of fulsome disclosure, acknowledgment of concerns and the lack of a clear mandate to run with an over the top, unaffordable, unneeded, unjustified new building, is at the root of the current turmoil. Council’s approach/attitude of “It’s moving ahead no matter what” and “NO to a petition” is driving the on-going frustrations and is stirring the pot of the current disrespectful atmosphere.
It’s about accountability to taxpayers on this single most expensive, unfunded project the township has ever tackled, which lacked a clear mandate to proceed with a new building of this magnitude and cost.
Dear Editor
Firstly, I would like to express my sincerest thank-you to those Canadians, who are looking to shop Canadian. With the cost of living so high, we all need to understand that some household margins are very tight and any increases, in costs, will affect everyone’s pocket-books. Some just cannot afford any increases. This can mean people losing their homes, food bank use increases, cutting back on medications, heat, etc. These retaliatory tariffs aren’t bringing a recession to Canada – they’re bringing a depression.
Canadians need to understand how “tariffs” work. When the U.S. puts tariffs on Canadian goods, going into the U.S., it is the Americans who pay – not Canadians. But, if our government foolishly puts retaliatory tariffs on, particularly dollar for dollar, all they are doing is “taxing” Canadians. That’s what a tariff is – a tax.
There have been a number of economists declaring – Canada will not win this tariff war. Our population is too small and so is our financial abilities, therefore the retaliatory tariffs will only decrease the spending power of Canadians.
An example. If the U.S. implements a 10% tariff on Canadian oil and gas, the Americans will be paying that. This will increase the cost of our oil and gas, because we send our oil and gas to the U.S. for processing. So that 10% will be paid by the U.S. but if our politicians do retaliatory tariffs, we will have to pay, basically double the tax. Their share and ours. These taxes go to the federal government harming our economy and Canadians. Any increases harm Canadians and that’s why these retaliatory tariffs will basically put Canadian businesses out of business. Jobs lost and the cost of living goes up.
That said, there are other ways and means to ensure the U.S. get’s the message. Canadians are already doing that with the “Buy Canadian” and looking at labels. This should extend to China and Russian goods, etc. What Canadian businesses could do, if it’s affordable, is merely stop buying from those countries and finding Canadian alternatives.
This boils down to “supply and demand.” If there is no “demand” the “supply” side dries up. One merely has to look at the various provinces taking American liquor off the shelves. Many of the provinces decided that they would use this fundamental of removing the supply and the demand would cease. That’s how Canadians can stop the political carnage of our nation, and still send a message to the U.S.
To be clear this government does not support oil and gas. Without oil and gas there is no industry, there are no ships, planes, buses, computers, any industry. That means fewer jobs, smaller pay-cheques, more homelessness, etc. Now we need to look at other taxes and the mismanagement of this government. This mismanagement left us unprepared for what is happening.
Tariffs are taxes and it’s only government that gains. Continue to be patriotic but don’t let them fool you into harming yourselves.
Elizabeth Marshall