This letter to the editor was published in the Saint John, New Brunswick Telegraph Journal Newspaper in an high  edited version on March 07, 2011.  The Times Transcript of Moncton and The Sackville Tribune of Sackville, New Brunswick failure to publish any type of version.

Delinquent Accounts and Overdue Payments

With the recent disclosure by the New Brunswick government which indicated there is approximately 700 million dollars in outstanding tax bills, interest payments and overdue loans owed to it’s various departments, which have been accumulated over the past three provincial administrations, should be a issue of major concern to tax payers. This revelation of there being millions owed to the government should be very upsetting to those who have met their annual obligations and are now being subjected to budget and service cuts with possible new tax increases by the provincial government.
Upon hearing of these numerous non-compliant debts not being collected at the provincial level should also cause people to wonder just how much more outstanding debt is owed to the local government administrations throughout the entire province.
Although there have been a number of local government budgets published and approved, with some announcing tax increases, none I have viewed stated any figures as to how much tax, services charges or other outstanding bills are being carried over in the accounts receivable of local administrations.
The compliant tax payers of the province and local municipalities should insist all administrations, regardless of size, be obligated to publish how many accounts are outstanding, the amounts owed and how long has each account has been in arrears. We all understand privacy is an issue so names should not be published but all other details should be made available to the taxpaying public who is being subjected to higher or new taxes in order to provide services to delinquent residents.
Should the provincial government take the necessary steps to collect the 700 million it is owed and the costs to do so, would there be a need to make budget cuts to education, health care or for any of the other possible scenarios being considered by the present administration to balance the budget?
Should local governments were to proceed to collecting what is owed to them as well as the costs to do so, would the cuts to unconditional grants by the provincial government have much effect on their budgets for 2011and would there be a need to raise taxes as some communities have announced?

The compliant taxpayers of New Brunswick have a right to know how much is owed to all levels of government, why it is not being collected in a timely manner and why are services still being provided to those with delinquent accounts?

Let’s ask our elected officials of all levels of government to provide the information on outstanding accounts receivable.

This article was published in a shortened edited version in the Saint John Telegraph Journal and the Moncton Times Transcript,15 Dec. 2010 and in an edited full length version in the Sackville Tribune Post, 16 Dec. 2010.

Alward holds court with elitist Advisers

The newly elected government of Premier David Alward recently asked a forum of political and socially connected elitists to study the New Brunswick economy and make recommendations to guide him in his deficit reduction endeavours.  Some of those who recently have offered advice are partially responsible for the present financial situation of the province from years gone by.

There are two disturbing scenarios which come from the government’s need to establish the forum: firstly, it gave a clear indication Premier Alward and the conservative backbenches had little idea what they were talking about when they were criticizing the previous government’s policies and made promises to the voters during the election campaign that were very misleading to say the least.

With only one goal in mind, winning the election, the conservatives made over 300 promises in the millions of dollars (as reported by provincial papers) they now have to either admit they had no intention of keeping all the committed promises or they had no idea about the financial position of the province nor did they have any solutions to the financial situation before they were elected, thus the reasons for the forum.

The second bothersome scenario is the belief by the forum membership there was no need to have an appropriate and creditable representation for the people who are going to have to make the vast majority of the payments not only for their recommendations but also for the cost of the forum, the average New Brunswick taxpayers.

The forum membership who made the recommendations to lower the provincial deficit showed very little empathy for those seniors and others having concerns about heating their homes, feeding their families properly, providing appropriate clothing for their children or assisting them with further education should the HST be raised or  services cut when they failed to make recommendations pertaining to MLA salaries, expense allowances and the eight year qualification pensions, political appointments, commercial loan guarantees, forgivable loans and the size of the new administration created by Alward.

Furthermore what was the cost to the taxpayers for the entire forum including salaries, fees, honorariums, transportation, hotels, meals, support staff and what was the compensation for the forum participants?  The many mayors throughout the province must be very happy to see the one percent cut to their unconditional grants then being used in such an unnecessary manner, by the way not mentioned in the campaign, while the  two day  bill is going to have to be paid.

With the recent reports of the rich are getting richer while others are suffering, the forum reminds us of the day when a historical figure said to another group of elitists of the day “if they have no bread let them eat cake”.    Although I respect what the one percent of our population has accomplished with their lives, people who reach a certain level of social and financial status have not changed very much over the centuries, they are just a little more politically and socially correct while being more cohesive as a social class, in what they are do.

To the Premier: “New Brunswickers prefer meat and potatoes rather than Vachon cakes”

This article was submitted to ‘letters to the Editor” of two local papers and as of Oct. 11, 2010, neither have published it, they being the Times Transcript in Moncton and he Sackville Tribune Post in Sackville, both in New Brunswick.

Great Expectations for the Future

On Sept. 27, the voters of New Brunswick gave Premier- Elect David Alward and his Conservative Party a tremendous mandate in a manner never seen in the province New Brunswick before by defeating Shawn Grahams Liberal Party after only four years in power.

By giving Alward such a clear mandate and accepting his platform all New Brunswickers are entitled to have great expectations of the new government after it’s years of rhetoric, criticisms and its many promises made during the election campaign pledging a better future for the entire province. There were no qualifying conditions to those promises therefore there should be no qualifying excuses.

Those expectations for a better future should be no greater in any other area of the province than in the Tantramar Riding.

After years of neglect by both major political parties the local re-elected member of the legislature now has access to major resources, the political connections and a very strong mandate from local voters to vastly improve the way of life in the Tantramar Region.

There are now no excuses for bad road service and maintenance, lack of school maintenance, economic and social development or for a lack of interest in addressing the local environmental issues.

Now those politically connected administrators of local communities in the Riding of Tantramar should also now have greater access to new resources to enhance their facilities and services as other communities throughout the province have had for the past twenty years, without political indifference.

On what voters can expect and assess as to how the Region of Tantramar should be treated and developed by the new administration they only have obtain the information through their MLA reference how much taxpayer money was spend and on what in other ridings over the past ten to fifteen years. If that information is made available residents of Tantramar will be amazed as to how little has been contributed to the development of their area above and beyond the socially and politically correct pet projects which created great photo opportunities but has done very little for a long term sustainable economic future.

The residents of New Brunswick did not vote for different they voted overwhelmingly for better. We will know how much better in four years.

WG Macx MacNichol
“The Shiretown Image Maker”
Freelance Writer/Photographer
64 Woodlawn Road,
Dorchester, NB, E4K 3 A8
(506) 379-2211 or (506) 379-0678
www.theshiretownimagemaker.com
http:/thethoughtsofacommomman.blog.com

This article was published in edited format in the  Times Transcript, Moncton, NB; The Telegraph Journal, Saint John, NB and the Sackville Tribune, Sackville, NB, between 10 and 16 Sept. 2010.

Where is the political and public outrage?

As our troops continue to return home from around the world in various states of physical and mental condition one has to wonder why they are being treated in the outrageous manner as described by Retired Colonel Pat Stogran, Ombudsman for Veterans, in recently released news reports.

What is even more shocking is the silence from the politicians, public officials, ordinary citizens and the Royal Canadian Legion and their lack of concern about these issues put forth and Pat Stogran who is to be replaced because he cares about our veterans.

Each year on Remembrance Day hundreds of politicians and public officials along with thousands of elected Legion Executives and members, from all across this country pay homage to all who have served their country.  But for the twelve months between ceremonies those very same individuals remain relatively silent when it comes to the issues expressed by the former Colonel on how obstructively and deceptively the Department of Veteran’s Affairs treats the returning troops.

The most offensive revelation about how Civil Servants think when dealing with Canadian veterans was the statement made by an undisclosed bureaucrat to Stogran; “it is in of the government’s best interest to have soldiers killed overseas rather than wounded because the liability is shorter term”.  That is quite a statement coming from someone benefitting from working for the government of the best country in the world.  I wonder if he would he make the same statement to his wife if it was their son or daughter who was the soldier who had been wounded?

Not only is Pat Stogran standing up for the returning troops he has also been asking all Canadians to stand up for this country’s sons and daughters which should not have been necessary to do.  Up to this time I have not read or heard of any very forceful statement of support for Stogran from the National Executive of the Royal Canadian Legion or any politicians.  The only support clearly expressed publicly for the ombudsman has been from a group of newly returned veterans, why?

Should the inappropriate issues and difficulties of our veterans and their families are well founded, as stated by Pat Stogran, the upcoming Remembrance Day speeches and  ceremonies will sound and appear very hollow and meaningless unless decisive action is not taken and quickly to change how our veterans are treated and compensated for serving our country

Macx

WG Macx MacNichol
“The Shiretown Image Maker”
Freelance Writer/Photographer
64 Woodlawn Road,
Dorchester, NB, E4K 3 A8
(506) 379-2211 or (506) 379-0678
www.theshiretownimagemaker.com
http:/thethoughtsofacommomman.blog.com

This point of view was sent to Hon. Bob Rae, MP; Hon. Ruby Dhalla, MP and Hon. Dominic Leblanc, MP for Beausejour May 20, 2010, for their consideration and response.

One Set of Pension Rules for All Canadians

After reading an outline of the details of Bill # C-428 I am concerned how our new citizens are being treated better than Canadians who have lived their entire lives and invested in this country and it polices for years.

How can anyone support Bill # C-428 which reduces the wait time to receive benefits for new Canadians when lifelong Canadians have their overall pension incomes adjusted and/or in some cases reduced when they become eligible at 65 to receive OAS?  Just one example to explain of this type of adjustment is within the Public Service, where at the age of 65 many retirees who will apply for OAS will be informed their overall government benefits will be reduced because of present day rules and regulations. To me it appears highly unfair to those who have paid for decades in order to receive their benefits when compared to someone who has just arrived in Canada within 3 years is entitled to unrestricted benefits in shorter time frame and in some cases have never paid a cent to support the OAS plan.

I believe in the immigration system we support in Canada but I do not support any concept that treats our new Canadians better than our lifelong citizens.  When someone sponsors a new Canadian they must understand all citizens, old and new, will be treated in the same manner and qualify for services and benefits in the same manner as all of us.

I also do not understand how 2 liberals can justify their Bill # C-424 that targets minority special demographics for any other reason than for votes within a confined constituency rather than for all Canadians.

I do hope there will be amendments to the present Bill # C-428 or it is defeated entirely until a Bill is presented in a manner in which all Canadians are treated in the same manner.

Macx

WG Macx MacNichol
Dorchester, NB
379-2211 or 379-0678
macxjack@rogers.com
thoughtsofacommomman.blog.com

This article was published by the Moncton Times Transcript (Jan. 2, 2009); by the Sackville Tribune Post (Sept. 30, 2009) under “How will your pension plan be affected by world economy?; and by the Saint John Telegraph Journal under What is the state of your pension plan?

Raising concerns over pensions

As with many money market institutions and international corporations seeking financial bailouts from governments around the world one glaring area of concern not being addressed is the total amount of the delinquent payments owed to pension plans by those requesting assistance.

As reported (October 29, 2008, Globe and Mail, front page) companies and financial institutions are presently lobbying the Federal Finance Department to delay payments for their pension plan obligations from the normal three years to ten years.

This possible concession to various organizations which includes everything from multi-national corporations to local Not-for Profit organizations should be of major concern to every person paying contributions through payroll deductions or presently drawing a monthly cheque regardless of what pension the participant is involved with at the present time.

Many companies asking for the government to make these changes to the pension plan regulations, behind closed doors, should be held accountable for their delinquent payments because it is almost impossible for anyone to guarantee these ill-managed establishments will even exist in ten years.

Contributors, retirees and unions should be asking “What is the financial state of their pension plans and how much is it owed by  the administrator?”

Examples of why pension plan participants should have concerns is ongoing saga with municipal worker’s pension plan situation in Saint John, NB (December 09, 2008, Telegraph Journal, p. C1) and the General Motors Corp. reported pension shortfall of 4.5 billion dollars (November 19, 2008, Globe and Mail, P. B2) which are just two situations  that should raise concern with all pensions.

The Finance Ministers of Canada very seldom, if at, mention the issue pension plan delinquent payments and the potential lost revenues for which they could possibly be responsible in the future with eventually the pensioner and taxpayer baring the burden for these concessions and losses.

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Every taxpayer, pension plan participant and retiree should be very concerned about the possible consequences of any concessions, “favours”, to those responsible for the delinquent payments to pension plans.   Any change to the payment schedules to the pension plan obligations will affect future and present retirees for years to come and tax payers forever.

How will you be affected?

This article was published by the Moncton Times Transcript (Sept. 29. 2009); by the Sackville Tribune Post (Sept. 30, 2009) under “The time has come to clean up our backyards options”

Take care of our backyards first

As reported in the latest edition of the Sackville Tribune Post (Sept. 23, 2009) a new regional environmental project is in the planning stages for southeastern New Brunswick involving local municipalities which could be a good thing.

The real question is “Should there be plans for another politically and socially correct project when some local environmental issues within some individual municipalities have gone unaddressed?”

For years when concerns about dirty streets, unsightly premises, unkempt ditches, illegal dump sites and improper disposal of renovation waste are presented to some local administrations there have been numerous reasons given why they could not be dealt with and one is always costs.

Therefore, is it not reasonable for local residents to see any new funds that become available be used to address those issues inside their communities before commitments are made to larger regional projects.

If one cannot properly maintain his/her own piece of the world how can one joint a group and start holding others accountable for their area of responsibility?

Let’s cleanup our own backyards before we start looking over fences and assessing what is being done by our neighboring communities. The bigger projects can come later, they will always be issues to address.

This article was published by the Moncton Times Transcript (Dec. 28. 2009); by the Sackville Tribune Post (Dec. 23, 2009) under “Canadians need better pension options” and by Saint Telegraph Journal (Dec.24, 2009) under “CPP should allow for contributions” edited under “Independent assessments help power debate” (Late posting)

A good way to help Canadians with pensions

I believe we Canadians should consider assisting people with pensions in the same manner we do with health-care with two exceptions, first it must pay for itself and the funds contributed must be secure so people can count on receiving what they pay for, not like the deficit run health-care system.  CPP should allow for added voluntary contributions, either annually or through payroll deductions, with the date of retirement benefits adjusted according to the amount paid overall.

This would make it easier for the average Canadian to invest in something they understand and have had confidence in for years.  It must be understood the CPP is not meant for the high rollers who get questionable million dollar bonuses, it is meant to protect the little people.  Therefore make it possible for the little people to invest in the CPP with what little extra funds they may have without having to be a Wall Street genius.

Just imagine the increased power the CPP would develop to assist the average Canadian with his or her retirement if it was to receive just an average of $200.00 per year extra voluntary tax deductible contributions, from just two million Canadians, to add to the already enormous investment pool.  Just imagine the increase in the benefits for the average Canadian who paid those extra contributions for the thirty or forty years he or she may work.

If someone could do the math, I bet a dinner for two at Mac Donald’s, contributors would receive far greater benefits for their retirement from that type of investment than they would from investing the same amount in the highly publicized nondeductible Canada Savings Bonds which the government decides what it will to pay rather than the open market.  This could in no way be considered a handout because the CPP would only increase benefits according to the extra funds invested, regardless how small, with the CPP by Canadians of all levels, especially the little guy who can’t afford the dividend, profit and commission driven pension plans so widely advertised.

Pension Plan Planners should make it possible for the average Canadian to help himself/herself in a simple inexpensive manner.  I know I would have added a lot more to my CPP contributions if I had known that flexibility had been available many years ago rather than dealing with some of those door to door so called commission and bonus paid financial advisers.

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This article was published by the Moncton Times Transcript (Jan. 19, 2010); by the Sackville Tribune Post (Jan. 20, 2010) and by Saint Telegraph Journal (Jan. 18, 2010) edited under “Independent assessments help power debate”

Political Fear of the Educated and Informed

Although I do not have the education, ability or the skills to properly assess the proposed sale of NB Power to Quebec Hydro to determine whether or not it will be beneficial for New Brunswick residents for the next 99 years, I do have the ability to appreciate and respect a well presented assessment by those who wish to inform us in an open and independent manner.

I specifically refer to the two very informative separate assessments put forth by Professor Donald Savoie and mathematics student Nathan Ough over the last twenty days. The reason I appreciate these types of assessments is because one can tell they have substance when the corporate leaders and politicians supporting the sale of NB Power either can’t address the issues raised in the assessments with their own valid responses or they hire out of country consultants to discredit the writers of those assessments.

By reacting in such a manner our political leaders appear to not know what they are talking about when confronted by an educated non-political independent assessment from an open point of view.  They either do not have the skills to address the issues that Savoie and Ough presented and do not have the courage to admit it or they do not care what the true facts are when it comes to the actual benefits of the sale because of possible undisclosed ulterior motives.

There have been many examples throughout history that indicate everyone should remember most leaders, whether corporate or political, throughout the world are fearful of a well informed citizenry which they intend to manipulate.

This line of tactics is presently be practiced in New Brunswick not only with reference to the sale of NB Power, Savoie has indicated the concealment of the actual financial status of the entire provincial administration keeps New Brunswick residents from having a clear view of the true debt situation of the province and the affects it will have on their future.

When a person states he or she does care if they lose their jobs, which has been stated recently, because of their stand on an issue, it must mean they have already developed future plans to fall back on and have little regard for the future consequences of those issues on anyone else.

New Brunswickers should not only remember the phase “buyer beware” but also “beware of those bearing gifts”, let’s  just be sure by being well informed void of political partisanship.

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This article was published by the Moncton Times Transcript (Jan. 19, 2010) under “Governments must act now”; by the Sackville Tribune Post (Jan. 20, 2010) and by Saint Telegraph Journal (Jan. 18, 2010) under “Flooding problems were predictable”

Non Essential Coastline Development should be Prohibited

The recent weather and flooding events in the areas of Port Elgin and the Baie Verte, although very unfortunate and regrettable, were predictable, if the various coastline studies had been taken into consideration.

In 2005 Health Canada sponsored a study of possible coastline emergencies involving numerous communities within a distance of less than 50 km of the areas affected in or near Port Elgin.

The Health Canada study projected (not the only study to do so) there could be creasing problems with coastline flooding, extensive damage to the environment and  private property if past errors were not corrected and the present practices of coastline development were allowed to continue in the Atlantic regions.

It is amazing to see, after governments of all levels having been informed of the possible major future problems, they continue the practice of issuing of building permits for domestic structures, valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, to be built in flood prone areas and very low elevation beach front properties along our maritime coastline areas for no other reason than pleasure.

When disaster strikes to the areas of the carelessly developed coastline, we all pay, either because the cost of all protection for everyone goes up to offset the extra costs to the insurance companies or protection is refused to others.

Although no blame can be directed at the present residents in the areas of Port Elgin and Bay Verte because their areas were developed before such terms as global warming, acid rain, clear cutting, ozone layer and storm surge became part of our day to day vocabulary, but any further development of the coastlines of the Atlantic provinces should be severely criticized to the highest level of those responsible.

It is time our government leaders at all levels to consider more than tax revenues and those who profit from the Real Estate sales and enact a moratorium on all nonessential coastline development for the Atlantic Region that will protect us all from environmental and financial disasters.