Letters  

Disability benefit rollout

An open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Thank you for the progress, albeit tiny, on a federal disability supplement. But what were you thinking? Did you not think it would be perfectly obvious that the disability benefit rollout has been done on the backs of the disabled, with full knowledge of the consequences?

Logically, it should be very simple. Using the CRA, anyone whose history of filing indicates provincial disability benefits and falls within the income threshold is automatically approved.

But no. It would cost too much too quickly. So, rather than do the right thing, someone who has already gone through a difficult process to obtain their disability status and benefits, must go through the same difficult process again. And let’s not even talk about how long that can take in our current health care disaster.

It sounds to me like you are committing a human rights violation. Failing to recognize a citizen’s disability status, which has already been vetted by the medical establishment and recognized by a province or territory, would seem to be a clear case of discrimination against those who are already struggling to survive.

Fix it. Do the right thing. Make life easier, not harder.

Garhen Avalokiteshvara

Don't eliminate tax credits

Open letter to B.C. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Minister Brenda Bailey, Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport Minister Lana Popham and MLA Bob D’Eith, parliamentry secretary for arts and film

Re: Recent budget announcement related to regional and distant location tax credits

I am writing to you because I’m a recent 2D animation graduate of the Centre for Arts and Technology, living in the Okanagan Valley.

I heard (the government) is canceling the regional and distant location tax credits, and its sort of a shock. I spent $27,000 on animation school and was excited about a future in the animation industry. I dreamed about being a professional animator for years and now it seems my dreams are never going to materialize.

Kelowna’s not just where I work, it’s the place I call home. The Okanagan needs those tax credits, or the animation industry will be in trouble. Schools, studios and digital artists careers are all in jeopardy. Your (government's) decision is going to affect so many people's lives in the Okanagan and beyond, both directly and indirectly.

I understand you want to help remote workers across B.C., but killing these tax credits is going to hurt local animation studios, and digital artists will be affected by being unable to locate employment. (Eliminating) those credits is like pulling the rug out from under us.

Please think about what this means for us. We need those credits to keep our animation dreams alive.

Please consider reversing this decision.

Emily Gray, Kelowna

Buzzwords for homeless

Re. Seniors in the housing crisis (Castanet, April 19)

As of late, there are a number of new buzzwords and many adjectives being used in the media to redefine elements describing homelessness, poverty and the like.

The words “homelessness” and “poverty" have long been used to describe these situations and the meanings of them are well-understood by everyone who is not illiterate.

It seems now these common terms are felt by many critics and writers to not carry enough weight, or somehow create a stigma when applied to descriptions of the “victims" (of homelessness and poverty), so new terms are being invented that simply rename the problem. They do nothing to make changes, simply reinvent the problem under a new name, still carrying the same negative connotations but seen as more “politically correct” (another (buzzphrase).

Let's call a spade a spade. In the article, Virginia Holden of the Victoria Housing Society uses the term "unhoused" several times, and others say "underhoused,” both (words) with negative connotations. Now, I see there is a new one in the article, “overhoused”, being used to describe some seniors’ living situations.

The majority of seniors sought out employment as young folks, worked hard—some for more than 30 years at one job—to earn a living and buy and pay for homes with some mortgages running more than 30 years before being paid off.

Many planned for, and paid into, pensions for 30 years and, like investments, hoped they would (allow) them to enjoy a comfortable retirement. These aren't the 22% of poor seniors mentioned in the article.

Would the remaining 78% of seniors, be classified as overhoused? That's a new one to me, as if we, the 78% are part of the problem.

Let's leave the majority out of it and have these societies look after their chosen cause, homelessness.

Alan Sanderson

Upset at council and traffic

Once again, I need to thank (Kelowna’s) mayor and councillors for the job they have done. It sure does warrant their 35% pay raise.

Now we can’t even travel in the city from point A to B because there are so many detours. It’s impossible.

Once again we are dealing with bike lanes being put in. Can the (riders) not go to the numerous trails throughout the city, or should we mess up all the roads so two vehicles can hardly pass each other?

Maybe we should put bikes lanes on Harvey as well. That is probably the next plan. The traffic in the city is horrendous. (Kelowna) was once a beautiful city where you could actually drive and enjoy the sites. No more. Just get in your vehicle and try to be patient for the two to three lights before you can move one block.

Thanks to the mayor and councillors for yet another job well done. Enjoy your raise.

Dianne Dueck

'Punitive' tax rates

Re. Patrick MacDonald's letter Climate change no priority (Castanet, April 17)

I have numerous issues with the comments made in the letter, but one in particular stands out: "Most wealthy people do not work hard all their lives to accumulate wealth."

I agree with the writer that some wealth is inherited, for example, the trust funds set up by (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau's grandfather. But to suggest other wealth is somehow accumulated by means other than hard work is nonsense.

People do not get high-paying jobs by not working hard. Small business owners, the backbone of the economy and where a lot of the wealth accumulation is created, accumulate that wealth by working hard.

The writer wants to tax those people more for working hard and creating wealth, which in my mind, is nothing more than penalizing success.

My question to the writer is how much should successful people pay in income tax? According to Statistics Canada, for the 2021 taxation year, (the most recent data available), the top 1% of tax filers had 10.4% of all the income and paid 22.5% of all federal and provincial income taxes.

The average income tax paid was $230,800 on average income of $579,000, which equates to an average tax rate of 39.8%. The marginal tax rate in B.C. for income at that level is 53.5%. So, for every dollar earned at that level, the taxpayer is taking home less than what they are paying in income tax.

The top 10% of tax filers had 34% of all the income and paid 54.4% of all federal and provincial income taxes. The average income tax paid was $55,800 on average income of $190,000, which equates to an average tax rate of 30%. The marginal tax rate in B.C. for that income level is 45.8%, which means they are taking home just 4.2% more than what they are paying in taxes.

If we continue to tax success at punitive levels, we will lose those people and businesses to other jurisdictions where success is rewarded and not penalized. Our GDP per capita, i.e. our standard of living, is declining under the Trudeau government and to lose productive capital by implementing additional punitive tax measures is counter productive.

We are borrowing now to maintain our standard of living and that borrowing will have to increase if that happens. Our debt position is horrendous as it is. Soon we will be paying $1 billion per week in interest payments, and that is only on the federal debt.

The writer mentions (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre will continue to cater to corporations and the wealthy. I would like to see evidence of that

On the contrary, it is Trudeau who is catering to the corporations and the wealthy. The egregious handouts to the billionaire Irving family in the Maritimes (staunch Liberals) and then, of course, the $13.2 billion for Volkswagen and the $15 billion for Stellantis-LGES are good examples.

Mark S. Bragagnolo

Fire hydrant concern

There are concerning potential wildfire hazards in West Kelowna.

My family lives on a cul-de-sac in West Kelowna, which is immediately above Kalamoir Park. It has been brought to our attention that the fire hydrants on and around the street are not up to municipal standard, as they have an insufficient flow rate.

The City of West Kelowna is aware of the deficiencies but has failed to put the watermain upgrades in this area into its capital plan, which is quite shocking, considering what the city has gone through with wildfires.

If a fire broke out in Kalamoir Park, those hydrants would be the first line of defence for the neighbourhood, and not having appropriate waterflows risks the loss of life and home for those who live in the area.

During last year’s wildfires, the mayor of Lake Country specifically credited recent upgrades to (that municipality’s) system and resulting higher flow rates as the reason Lake Country was able to contain the wildfires and save lives.

It is incumbent upon the City of West Kelowna to take immediate action to address this issue and I trust it will do so.

Charly Leach