Ice Dog,
Thank you for your comments. Would you happen to be a Liberal party member? LOL
(1) Well, even though I got to pay extra, I am not complaining about the GST. I mean we all got to pay taxes. Canada is a welfare state since ummm ..... Diefenbaker and Pearson (both contributed to Canada's identity). As a welfare state, giving us Canadian citizens all those "extras" such as health care, unemployment insurance, etc. etc. ... you've got to have high taxes. If it was not for these social programs, Canada would not have ranked among the best countries to live in according to the United Nations human development index. I mean, where does the money come from? Its our tax money. Even though we may be paying that extra percentage, we are in fact, getting it back when we see the doctor, get laid off or whatever.
Plus, one of the beauties of Canada's statecraft policy is universal health care. And health care can be related to the notion of citizenship simply because the state [Canada] is providing for its citizens just like free education till high school. Not too mention the fact that the government also pays for a huge percentage of university tuition fees ...
Yes, heavy taxing is an infringement on our discretionary income, and our GNP per capita may be well below the USA, but hey, I don't see the USA being ranked as one of the best places to live in. And Americans got to pay for health care which is a "cost" for sustaining themselves, whereas we Canadians don't have to treat health care as a "cost".
(2) No ... but I heard about the Sheila Copps thing. Are you talking about her? If its her, she got guts man !!! A true Voltaire -ian of our time. Its sad to see that people are being discriminated and picked on when they speak out against people in power. I guess the legacy of Socrates, Galileo, and those who spoke out will live on and be admired by those who enjoy a forum of open discussion.
(3) Sorry I don't know who John Nunziata is ...
I am sorry and I apologize but I could not find the thread. I did a name search with "Mr. X" but the search engine told me the query is too short.
Thanks,
Regards,
David