It must run in the family. Joe Tascona is trying for the mayor’s office on the promise of no property tax increases. His nephew, the local MP, is now telling us how he is going to stop federal prisoners from any entitlement to Old Age Security payments. They are both trying to win votes from the ignorant and uncaring among us.
You would think that Joe Tascona would know better. Since he helped Premier Mike Harris dump welfare costs on Ontario’s municipalities, that one expense has meant constant upward pressure on our municipal taxes every year. To keep our property taxes from growing, something has to be cut from the budget. More than 30 per cent of city budget costs are for police, fire and emergency services. Maybe this is where Mr. Tascona thinks he can save money. Our citizens might not want to pay the cost to see him try.
The younger generation are less direct. Speaking of that younger generation, one of the objections Joe Tascona brings up about his major rival for the mayor’s chair is that the councillor might be too young to be mayor. That surprises people who have seen what a great job that the councillor has done over the past four years. It is also surprising when you consider that councillor’s 12 years of experience in advising municipalities on how to manage costs and save money on major civic infrastructure projects.
In a recent conversation with some politically interested taxpayers, one said that the councillor is not only old enough to be mayor but he is also the best qualified. Another answered that the councillor is not only qualified but he is older than Mr. Tascona’s nephew who struts around town as the Member of Parliament. He is not only older, this person pointed out but he is one hell of a lot smarter. This got a grunt from a third person in the group who said: “The councillor is not only more experienced than the uncle, smarter and older than the M.P. but he also has a personality. In choosing a mayor, we are choosing someone to represent us. Is there a choice?”
Which brings us back to the nephew MP’s cavil about Old Age Pensions. Through their working life, Canadians earn the right to Old Age Security payments. The maximum today is something over $500. a month. The MP wants to take away that right. It is not as though the prisoner has anywhere to spend the money. Most arrange for that money to go to their family. Many families need it. One supposes that the MP would prefer that the prisoner’s family go on welfare. We can pay plenty for that.
What a sensible person thinks about it is that there are many reasons why a person might be in jail. That seems to be enough rights taken away from them. No doubt the courts might be better able to determine that. Someone as ignorant as Joe Tascona’s nephew should not be making those decisions. Every citizen has a responsibility to protect everyone’s rights. That is the best protection for ours.
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