| City council faces the same question virtually every year – how deeply should programs be cut to keep taxes at a minimum? – but the recent debate over Family and Community Support Services funding was a disturbingly concrete example.
Council elected to keep the funding in place, which was good news for programs such as the Calgary Women’s Shelter and Calgary Communities Against Sexual Abuse, but the issue has raised questions about our priorities when it comes to tax cuts versus quality of life.
Marc Lee, a researcher with the Canadian Centre For Policy Alternatives, a left-wing think tank, says conservatives in Canada have done a good job of demonizing taxes in recent years.
"I think we have had a lot of time on deficit and debt reduction…. Tax cuts seem to win the day," Lee says. "But I think there is a sense that infrastructure is decaying, that clean air and water is important, that health care is a priority."
He also thinks Canadians are starting to realize that funding cuts over the past decade have had real impacts on quality of life.
"In some ways I feel the whole idea of tax cutting has lost it’s steam lately, especially with health care and the idea that we may need a new tax to pay for it."
Calgary Ald. Joe Ceci says the debate over FCSS funding reiterated the importance of social programs funded by tax dollars.
"Canada is a liberal place. We have a history of saying we’d like to help each other out if we can… but I think sometimes people forget that," Ceci says. "You know a lot of people may say ‘I don’t need that kind of thing’ or ‘I’m doing well for myself,’… but the money involved in social spending is for a good reason....
"It’s tough when there are some people who think the only way taxes should go is down."
Canada’s big city mayors are lobbying the federal government for more money or new taxing powers, which would give them cash without the political mess of raising property taxes.
However, some people think Canadians already bear too much tax burden, no matter what level of government collects the cash.
Canadian Federation of Independent Business prairie vice-president Dan Kelly says the current tax regime is unfair and economically stifling. He worries more taxing powers simply mean more chance for abuse of taxpayer money.
"Instead of just expanding and duplicating elements of the public sector, politicians of all stripes would do well to remember that while we have three levels of government in Canada, there is only one level of taxpayer," Kelly says. |
