The federal government puts the Mafia to shame when it comes to extorting money from taxpayers.
Just look at a monthly natural gas bill. (To avoid going into cardiac arrest, don’t try to figure out what the taxes (carbon included) are at the gas pump.
Think the gas company is gouging? Guess again.
My monthly gas bill (before the recent carbon tax increase) was $165.78. Two years ago it was around $84. However, in the latest bill the bottom line is not what I was charged for the gas itself. That came to $39.05.
Other charges – delivery, transportation to gas company, customer charge and something called cost adjustment – added $76.81 to the bill. Fine. These are legitimate charges, the cost of doing business and supplying a much-needed service.
Now, about the federal government and taxes and unadulterated gouging.
The federal carbon tax on my bill was $30.84. And to add insult to injury, as they say, the HST is added to the total (tax on tax), adding $19.07 to the final line on the bill. (Tax on taxes at the pump, too). In all, federal taxes (HST and carbon), came to $49.91, which is $10.87 more than the gas itself.
Ya, ya. I know. There’s the carbon tax cheque – er, carbon rebate cheque. But who benefits and how much of it covers the added cost for things like home heating, filling up at the gas pump – a huge impact on folks who have to drive any great distance to work – and its impact on groceries, is up for another debate.
Sitting down? One organization warns that taxes (carbon and HST) on natural gas bills could increase by another $700 from the current $300 per heating season.
And if the federal carbon tax program is such a great financial bonanza for Canadians, why are seven premiers against it?
APRIL 1967 – A financial report to city council showed that in 1966, the city-owned Bob Turner Memorial Centre and Community Arena (aka Water Street Arena) produced a combined profit of $16,823 with the Water Street Arena accounting for $13,340 of the total. Si Miller, parks and rec director, said the Water Street Arena profit included $5,140 from a deep playoff run by the Cornwall Royals. … A local legal milestone was marked when Paul Rouleau (who would go on to become a federal judge) became the first Cornwall lawyer to serve as a legal aid representative in magistrate’s court. … Contract for construction of the regional school of nursing building – McConnell Avenue and Fourth Street – was given out. Price-tag was $1.3 million. … After being slapped with a 30-day sentence for cursing in public, a city man – a repeat offender – thanked Magistrate George Runciman. “I think it (sentence) will do some good,” he told the magistrate. … Riverdale Avenue residents were upset that heavy trucks going to and from home construction in their neighbourhood were making living in the area “intolerable” and damaging the pavement. … Therese Motard, 15, was named grand winner of the Kinsmen Music Festival. Scholarship winners included Joel Derouin, Louise-Andre Baril, Irene MacDonald, Brahm Goldhamer and David MacKillian. … Cornwall Township Public School Board announced that Bonville Public School would close at the end of the school year. … A federal immigration department report showed that more immigrants – mostly from Europe – were moving to Cornwall. In 1966, 60 families had re-located to the city. Officials said finding suitable accommodations was not a problem. … Three members of the Cornwall Little Theatre Company won awards at the Eastern Ontario Drama Festival: Lionel Tessier, best supporting actor; Jean Harris, best supporting actress; Edith Stiles, director’s award. … Two Osnabruck District High School students won awards at the regional high school drama festival. Gretchen Bozak was best actress and Andrew Pipe was best supporting actor. (Dr. Andrew Pipe, a native of Avonmore, would become Canada’s foremost expert on tobacco use and smoking cessation). … A house at Pitt and Seventh streets, built in 1840, was torn down to make room for the Firestone Store. The home was constructed with field stones. … The Ontario Labour Relations Board gave nurses at the SD and G Health Unit the right to bargain. … The Ontario Committee on Youth urged the provincial government not tolower the drinking age to 19 from 21. … Cornwall Juvenile Royals won the Ottawa and District Hockey Association title with a 6-4 win over Ottawa Nationals. Jim Healey had two goals. Kevin Barry, Dave Snelgrove, Allan McDonald and Bruce Surgeson also scored.
WEIRD AND WACKY Got to give this guy credit for ingenuity. He was caught stealing a package from the front porch of a Sacramento home while dressed up as a large garbage bag. A passer-by thought it weird that the garbage had two legs sticking out and was walking.
THIS AND THAT Seems that the more of our money the feds pump into the system to make life better for the unwashed, the worse it gets for the average working stiff. … What you’re not going to see is a Senate delegation going to China to study how its cities are fighting climate change. … Got to love federal climate change guru Steven Guilbeault who spends a lot of time telling us we have to reduce our carbon footprint while travelling around in a government jet and in a chauffeured limo that gets about five kilometres on a litre of gas.
TRIVIA This celebrity was Johnny Carson’s most frequent guest with 100 appearances on The Tonight Show: 1) Jonathan Winters, 2) Don Rickles, 3) Bob Uecker, 4) Robin Williams, 5) Pamela Anderson.
TRIVIA ANSWER The Andrew Jardine Funeral Home was at 262 Pitt St. prior to the Second World War. A second Jardine home – The Bert Jardine Funeral Home – was at 45 Second St. W.
QUOTED “This has to be the angriest and most caustic Christmas message I’ve ever seen.” – Conservative leader Pierre Polivre in response to PM Trudeau’s dire prediction that if the carbon tax was removed there would be no snow in December and no hope of a white Christmas.
