Reforming Canada's tax system: Natives

A few years back, a Cree native named Gordon Benoit filed a court challenge claiming the Government of Canada violated the provisions of Treaty 8 and that Indians covered under the treaty were entitled to be tax-exempt into perpetuity. An initial court victory was overturned on appeal, but it did raise two fundamental questions:

• Should Canada's First Nations continue to have a general exemption on taxes for income earned, even on reserve?
• As well, should non-natives who live on reserve land -- as is the case with some sections of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia -- have a say in the levies charged on them?

It's a tough question. Certainly our history of persecuting Aboriginals and attempts to commit cultural genocide through the residential school system is not a proud one. The unemployment rate among Indians, Inuit and Métis is also an embarrassment. But even within our discriminatory system, some have prospered and flourished -- many by working within the system, but some by working outside of it.

A number of years back, during a time when the cigarette smuggling syndrome was at its peak, CBC Radio did a story about one native on Six Nations who ran several smoke shops catering to "outsiders." The report alleged he cleared $1 million -- in a month. And because he was on reserve, it was all tax free.

That may be an extreme example, but it does raise a question. If some natives pay income taxes but others don't, some pay payroll taxes but others don't, and some don't carry tax cards but others do, doesn't that also create two classes of natives?

I'm not sure what the best solution would be. But one possible answer may come from two often forgotten corners of Canada -- and both are in the High Arctic.

In the Yukon, nine First Nations recently concluded land claims settlements with the feds and the territorial government. Among the provisions of the agreement is that the tax exempt status ended but that income taxes are shared with the tribal councils -- to be more exact, 75% of federal income tax and 95% of territorial income tax are redirected to the tribes to use as they see fit. They also charge GST to their members for products -- variably called a First Nations Tax or a community improvement charge, and retain the revenues.

In the NWT, the Tlicho (formerly known as the Dogrib) signed a land claims agreement with the feds that also sees a sharing of income tax revenue. I'm not sure what the percentages are, but what makes the agreement unique is that it also applies to non-natives living on land claim areas as well -- in other words a non-native can ask for a portion of his or her income taxes to be redirected to the tribal administration and can also run for band council positions, although not as an elected chief.

What could happen is a myriad of revenue sharing agreements -- one for each of the nearly 600 bands in Canada; or comprehensive agreements by each province on how to share monies. But the solution adopted in the Yukon and by the Tlicho are definitely worth considering in our South. It's hard to say whether natives would agree to give up their tax-exempt status even if they got more of the control over issues they're entitled to; on the other hand the approach taken by the Harperites which is doing nothing at all (and which actually opposed the Tlicho settlement) and opposing so-called "race-based solutions" is not acceptable.

The natives were here first, they're entitled to a share of the revenues -- even if it means taxing their own people.

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More on the Middle East crisis

The crisis in the Middle East is heating up by the hour. A number of Lebanese civilians were killed as they were trying to escape to safer ground in Syria. Hezbollah has declared war after its headquarters were bombed. Some news sources also say a border crossing between Egypt and Gaza was blown up by militants, allowing people to rush in (presumably to join the war against Israel).

Surfing the pundit sites, I find some gems (or duds, depending on your point of view). Josh Marshall tries to look at it from both sides, pointing out that very many Palestinians were disposessed and the resentment lasts to this day; and that there are many elements in the Jewish and fundamentalist Christian communities that fail to recognize this fact. On the other hand, there are many who are too willing to demonize Israel without understanding why the country needs to defend itself as it does.

On the other side of the divide, Ed Morrissey critizes the Vatican for its stance on the deteriorating situation. A statement from the Catholic Church says that Israel attacked Lebanon -- without referencing the fact that it was Hezbollah -- which is part of the coalition government in Lebanon -- fired the first shot by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't, I guess.

It's hard to come up with words to describe my feelings without being offensive to both sides of the argument. I'm probably no better at it than Vanessa Redgrave was -- someone who managed to say something that insulted both Jews and Palestinians. But here's my sense:

• The terrorists, and any government that would sponsor terrorism as generally understood (using violence, extortion or other similar means to win concessions) must be stopped. In fact, they must be destroyed.
• All countries, democratically elected or not, must look upon themselves and see if they have contributed to the spread of violence around the world; and take the necessary steps.
• The fact is that Israel and Palestine must agree to live side by side in peace. This may necessitate some land swaps. While I think the 1967 "Green Line" should be the border between Israel and the West Bank (with free and open access to all religious sites for those who come in peace), there can be an argument made for another line that gives both sides what they want. But it must be settled, and now.
• The Palestinian Authority must stop all rogue elements in its midst. In fact, Hamas, who is the government in the region now, must renounce violence in all its forms.
• Israel is well within its rights to defend its people and territory and to take action to ensure it remains protected. Attacking civilians is not, however, an appropriate response -- all efforts must be made to ensure ordinary people aren't targeted.
• Finally, it's time for the fundamentalist Christians to realize that there are such a people as Palestinians, they have a right to exist -- and some of them are also Christians. It's also time for the fundies to stop pretending that the Jews are the "chosen people" but that they'll go to hell if they don't convert to Christianity. That's heresy. The Jews are the chosen people, period, and they don't have to convert unless they want to.

I don't know if all that would work. It's just a thought. But the parties involved had better solve this soon; before OPEC imposes another trade embargo on the West and oil hits $200 a barrel.

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Woman calls 911 looking for a date

It's gotten to the point in my life where I'm in such a rut in terms of human relations, that I've signed up for one of those "speed dating" events. But consider this item: One desperate woman in Aloha, Oregon, called 911 regarding a noise complaint. A few hours later, she called back asking for the same officer, who she that was "cutest cop she'd ever seen" -- and was promptly arrested for abusing the emergency system.

Man, I've heard of patients falling for their EMS rescuers or the nurse or the doctor in the hospital -- but this is ridiculous. Even I'm not that desperate for a woman! (Although I have do some female friends from high school who are now nurses, physiotherapists, or forensic pathologists.)

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Woman calls 911 looking for a date

It's gotten to the point in my life where I'm in such a rut in terms of human relations, that I've signed up for one of those "speed dating" events. But consider this item: One desperate woman in Aloha, Oregon, called 911 regarding a noise complaint. A few hours later, she called back asking for the same officer, who she that was "cutest cop she'd ever seen" -- and was promptly arrested for abusing the emergency system.

Man, I've heard of patients falling for their EMS rescuers or the nurse or the doctor in the hospital -- but this is ridiculous. Even I'm not that desperate for a woman! (Although I have do some female friends from high school who are now nurses, physiotherapists, or forensic pathologists.)

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Toronto 18 mole comes foward

Last night's broadcast of an interview with Mubin Shaikh, the so-called "eighteenth man" and the mole who broke up the Toronto conspiracy, raises some very serious questions for me.

• Shaikh says that he backs the jihad in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not attacks on civilians in Canada. Aren't humans the same no matter what country they live in?
• He admits running the "training camp" in Washago, Ontario while acting as a mole for Canada's spy service as well as the Mounties. Isn't that a form of entrapment?
• He supports sharia law, and it was his scuffle with a female protestor, in part, that led to Ontario banning all religions from running arbitration panels. Even though, as it turns out, most Muslims were against the panels. Was he just playing possum?
• Finally, he was offered witness protection; but came forward after being "urged to do so" by his fellow Muslims who have known about his role for weeks. Doesn't that just blow the case right open? If someone tries to whack him, doesn't that put it down the drain?

It's good to see someone doing the right thing and helping to stop a truly dastardly plot. But it doesn't mean we shouldn't question the motives of the whistleblower, either. I'm not the only one who's thinking this: Kathy Shaidle quotes a Muslim leader asking if this is another case of the pot calling the kettle black ... and she asks the same question regarding Shaikh's stance on the sharia issue.

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We're #54!

The latest rankings for FIFA, the governing body for soccer, are out. They show Canada's national team (I didn't know we still had one) has rocketed up 29 spots to 54th. Even though we didn't qualify for the World Cup -- in fact, we haven't played a FIFA sanctioned game in over three months.

Why the huge improvement? Because now FIFA only takes into account the average performance of national teams over the last four years, not eight; as well as the strength of the various conferences. That also explains Team USA which took a nosedive, dropping from 5th to 16th. It has long dominated CONCACAF, the region that covers North America and the Caribbean, but it's considered weak compared to UEFA (Europe) or CAF (Africa).

Hey, there's always the World Cup in 2010 ... which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. By which time, we may very well be #1!

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We're #54!

The latest rankings for FIFA, the governing body for soccer, are out. They show Canada's national team (I didn't know we still had one) has rocketed up 29 spots to 54th. Even though we didn't qualify for the World Cup -- in fact, we haven't played a FIFA sanctioned game in over three months.

Why the huge improvement? Because now FIFA only takes into account the average performance of national teams over the last four years, not eight; as well as the strength of the various conferences. That also explains Team USA which took a nosedive, dropping from 5th to 16th. It has long dominated CONCACAF, the region that covers North America and the Caribbean, but it's considered weak compared to UEFA (Europe) or CAF (Africa).

Hey, there's always the World Cup in 2010 ... which will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa. By which time, we may very well be #1!

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Sea Kings in the sun, Comorants ... in the sea

A few years back, some disgrunted and as yet still unnamed members of the Canadian Forces did a parody of Terry Jacks' 1974 hit Seasons in the Sun, called Sea Kings in the Sun, about the perennial problems the ancient class of Skikorsky helicopters were having -- including the fact they spent 30 hours in the shop for every one hour in the air.

One would think that after finally -- finally! -- beginning to replace those stupid Sea Kings things would finally get better. Wrong. We learn this morning that a fairly brand new Cormorant search and rescue chopper crashed this morning into the Atlantic, off the coast of Canso, Nova Scotia. Three servicepersons were killed.

As things start to get out of hand in Afghanistan, one can probably expect the body count to rise. We do not, however, expect people to die on training exercises before they're set off to patrol the seas or fight in the mountains and deserts. Are these new helicopters defective? Are they being maintained to standards not in line with the manufacturer's specifications? Or was this just one of those freak accidents?

More and more, Canadians are starting to realize that the "strong and proud" need all the help they can get. They sure as heck don't need setbacks like this.

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Sea Kings in the sun, Comorants ... in the sea

A few years back, some disgrunted and as yet still unnamed members of the Canadian Forces did a parody of Terry Jacks' 1974 hit Seasons in the Sun, called Sea Kings in the Sun, about the perennial problems the ancient class of Skikorsky helicopters were having -- including the fact they spent 30 hours in the shop for every one hour in the air.

One would think that after finally -- finally! -- beginning to replace those stupid Sea Kings things would finally get better. Wrong. We learn this morning that a fairly brand new Cormorant search and rescue chopper crashed this morning into the Atlantic, off the coast of Canso, Nova Scotia. Three servicepersons were killed.

As things start to get out of hand in Afghanistan, one can probably expect the body count to rise. We do not, however, expect people to die on training exercises before they're set off to patrol the seas or fight in the mountains and deserts. Are these new helicopters defective? Are they being maintained to standards not in line with the manufacturer's specifications? Or was this just one of those freak accidents?

More and more, Canadians are starting to realize that the "strong and proud" need all the help they can get. They sure as heck don't need setbacks like this.

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No to the CTV - CHUM merger

Media concentration is not good for Canadians. Just ask the people in Vancouver, where Can West Global owns all three local papers -- the Vancouver Sun, Province, and the Vancouver edition of the Toronto National Post; as well as 70% of the TV and radio market there.

Fewer voices means less diversity, and less choice. Not everyone can afford even a dial-up connection, which means they need to rely on the media they can access ... and their opinions are more often than not shaped by the editorial content and the way writers slant their stories.

Regulators -- both competition and broadcast -- must stop this deal from going through. We must not allow CTV to effectively own three networks: CTV, City and A-Channel.

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Did Harper break his promise not to cut the GST credit?

Is it just me, or has everyone's quarterly GST rebate cheques gone down a fair bit as a result of the cut in the federal excise tax from 7 to 6%? Some of my supervisors tell me they earned the same amount or slightly more last year, but just under the threshold before the rebate starts getting clawed back. But instead of the $200 or so they were expecting for their families, they got about $170. Singles who were expecting something in the range of $100 only got $88. Me included.

Have this happened to any of the rest of you? Please post.

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Two more soldiers kidnapped; Israel plays hardball

Is the Middle East headed towards another war? It sure looks like this morning, after two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped by Hezbollah, prompting Israel to invade the southern part of Lebanon and occupy it for the first time since 2000; and as I write these words the reserves have been activated and Israel has all but declared war on the land of cedars. One can only pray for the safe return of the hostages and a very quick end to hostilities both there and in the Gaza, where another soldier is being held.

If people thought that the newbie Kadima Party was just going to let Hamas and Hezbollah just roll over Israel, they have been sadly mistaken. One only has to think about yesterday's attacks in Mumbai (Bombay) to realize what's at stake here.

One doesn't negotiate with terrorists. There are only two possibilities that can come out of this. Either the reactionaries will lay down their arms, renounce violence, and talk; or they will be completely destroyed. I am all for peace -- but it cannot come at any price.

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Should Ontario get rid of its Catholic schools?

A few weeks ago the government in Halton Region, the county next to the one in which I live, decided to build a new and improved regional headquarters and invited some other public funded bodies in the area which have been looking for new spaces as well to join in to save costs -- on the rational that a super head office would save taxpayers money as well as give public servants the space and legroom they so badly needed.

The Halton Police and the Halton Public School Board said yes. The Halton Catholic Board -- after some thought -- said no, saying it had to protect "Catholic values" but really implying they preferred to be scattered in three or four cramped buildings around the county.

Since that decision, the local and community papers -- including the Hamilton Spectator -- have been swamped with e-mails asking whether we even need a Catholic school system anymore, saying it's a 19th century anachronism. They point to at least two UN Human Rights rulings that have said Ontario's system is discriminatory towards non-Catholics. Many, but not most, Catholics have felt to respond that forced integration would be an assault on "their values."

What are Catholic values, anyway? Does it make a difference that kids are sent to Catholic schools, often against their will?

I went to a Catholic high school, and quite frankly it did not make a wit of difference to me. It may have helped to have a group of colleagues that were mostly united by faith, and it was nice to have a chapel (really a converted classroom) where I could just sit down and reflect when things got nasty (which they did when my parents' marriage broke down). But we students and our teachers expressed our common faith in so many different ways that the Vatican would have been more than happy to excommunicate 90% of us if they could send a spy and see what was really going on.

At least half, and as many as 80%, were having sexual relations and even most of the females who weren't were still on birth control. The vast majority never attended church except for the in-school Masses we were compelled to attend. Half the kids came from broken homes and both they and their parents were still receiving Communion -- and perhaps as many as half of the teachers, Catholic teachers, were divorced themselves.

And because the full funding of Catholic schools in Ontario had been implemented the year I started high school (up until then, they were financed only up to Grade 10), the board was stripped of the ability to punish students who did "un-Catholic" things like getting pregnant out of wedlock -- which sanction had until then normally been expulsion. Not only that, but I know that some of the counsellors actually encouraged their "patients" to have sex. How do I know this? Because one of them told me so, straight in my face. She said I didn't have to "wait" if I had a girlfriend and she and I decided we couldn't wait.

In my senior year, the religion class I was in -- which for that year dealt with "lifestyle choices" such as marriage, the single life or a religious vocation -- asked us to write a brief essay about whether it had made a difference we were in a Catholic school. One of the essays was to be picked for the school board's newsletter / propaganda sheet. Most said yes. I dared to say no -- and I actually got an A+ from my teacher for my chutzpah.

So far, two provinces -- Québec and Newfoundland-Labrador -- have obtained Constitutional Amendments regarding education. Québec no longer legally has to provide for the funding of religious schools, having switched to a language based system (French and English), although Catholic and Protestant schools still do operate at public pleasure in Montréal and Québec City, having been "grandfathered."

Newfoundland once had no public system at all, but finally abolished the faith based schools and now has a purely secular system although credit courses specific to each major religion has taken over. Interesting that in the referendum to pass that amendment, residents in mostly Catholic districts supported doing away with religious schools and those in mostly Protestant districts did not. Manitoba may be considering an amendment not unlike the one Québec obtained, if it hasn't already passed yet.

Should Ontario do the same? A few years back, the Conservative government tried rather clumsily to introduce a "voucher" regime through the income tax system that would have funded all private schools, which over time would have resulted in a subsidy of the lesser of 50% of tuition or $3500 per student. The McGuinty Liberals, as soon as they were elected, abolished it saying it drew money away from public and Catholic schools which needed to be fixed.

The Catholic school system, in my opinion, only encourages segregation; and we live in what should be an integrated world. As Christians, we're called to live in the world but not be of it. We can't have it both ways -- pretending to live in a world that doesn't exist. So there are basically two ways one can respect the rights of minorities, including non-Christians.

First, do what Newfoundland did for years -- have faith based schools for all religions, and fund them equally, with elected school boards whose boundaries might emcompass the entire province if a group was small enough. The downside is that students might have to be bused for hours at a time, two hours or more each way -- which is why "The Rock" finally gave up on it.

The second, and which I would support albeit with reluctance, is to abolish the sectarian schools but replace them with a requirement that all students in public high schools must take one credit course each year -- either for the religion they belong to, or a general course on "ethics" if they don't have a religion at all or want to opt out of the religion course.

This will probably not be very popular at first. In fact, I suspect that what will happen, at least in the early stages, is that in the lunchrooms Catholics will be in one corner, Muslims in another, evangelical Protestants in a third and so forth -- just as kids of various ethnicities prefer to hang out with "their own kind." Moreover, I think a lot of parents will just pull their kids out of the schools and into private institutions or home schooling.

In the long run, however, I think students will appreciate the benefits of working in one system, because it will encourage them to improve it and raise the bar for academic standards. The separated system forces colleges and universities to compare apples to oranges when selecting students for admission. An integrated system would let them compare apples to apples. It's time to progress and realize this is 2006, not 1867. Other provinces have realized the "Confederation Bargain" can be altered to meet current circumstances.

Ontario should at least consider doing the same -- or else ensuring those "outside" the funded streams get the same education as those who are "in."

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I overreacted

Yesterday, I tried to make a point about a case about an eleven year old who had been raped; and how Canada's low age of consent makes kids like her vulnerable -- that while in many places an accused would be charged with child exploitation; in Canada the charge is all too often statutory rape, no matter how brutal the crime.

Unfortunately, I made the jump to confusing unwanted sexual intercourse with sexual harrassment. I was wrong, and I regret that. So, let me set this straight, if I can.

• There should be a line drawn between what is proper behaviour and what is not. Sexual harrassmen is always wrong, no matter how subtle (like the kind that goes on in so many workplaces) or overt (such as butt pinching), and there should be consequences. Perhaps not life in bars, but definitely some kind of sanctions.
• If someone is penetrated without their consent whether it's by a stalker lying in wait or a date rape or spousal rape, the charge should be sexual assault. Period. It should not matter how old or young someone is. And it's in those cases that I think a life sentence would be appropriate, which in Canada -- when no parole eligibility period is attached -- means a minimum of seven years.

It should be up to judges and juries to decide when an offence has taken place, but the baloney has gone on long enough. It's time for people to stand up.

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North Korea has bomb, Japan may be next

Steve Clemons at TWN has an insightful post on the current North Korea standoff and how Team Dubya has sabotaged efforts by career State Department officials to try to bring sanity to the situation. Clemons also discusses how Japan may feel compelled to acquire nuclear weapons as a deterrent if they think the US can no longer handle the security needs of the Asia-Pacific region.

The US has traditionally had a policy of imposing limited trade sanctions against countries that acquire the bomb -- India and Pakistan, for instance; although they were later lifted in the interests of diplomacy. Japan could be a different story -- not the least of which is because they have so many branch plants in the United States. Not putting in similar sanctions, as I suspect will happen, would be the ultimate double standard and would be a victory for those who think America is "anti-Islam."

Dubya had better tread carefully on this one. The last thing we need is another guy or gal with his or her fingers on "The Button." One can only hope and pray the entire Korean Penninsula will be denuclearized, and democratized, before things get totally out of hand.

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