Pubdate: Tue, 03 Jan 2017
Source: Prince George Citizen (CN BC)
Copyright: 2017 Prince George Citizen
Contact:  http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/350
Author: Todd Whitcombe
Page: 6

A LOOK AHEAD TO CANADA'S 150TH

'Tis the season to look upon the year to come. Given the bizarre character
of this past year, I hope you will forgive me for wishing 2017 is a much
quieter affair. It would be great if the world took a year off and rested.
Of course, that will never happen. For Canadians, 2017 will be a bit of a
milestone. We are 150 years old and as we like to celebrate round numbers,
we will likely be fully vested in our sesquicentennial. After all,
Canadians like to party and a major birthday is as good reason to do so.

From a historical perspective, 150 years is not a long time. Many
institutions have been around for much longer such as Oxford University
and the Roman Catholic Church. Many countries are much older, such as
China which dates back 3,800 years. But there are also many countries much
younger than ours. As countries go, we are something of a middle child.

We were born of a peaceful movement rather than revolution. The
governments of the province of Canada (both west and east), New Brunswick,
and Nova Scotia realized the mutual benefits to trade and military
protection which would be gained by forming a union. So they politely
asked the Queen if she would create a new country and with her assent, the
Dominion of Canada was came into being.

Of course, it took another 115 years before we really came into our own
with the repatriation of the constitution but that is a story for another
time. And we still haven't settled all of the issues with the First
Nations people who occupied this country for thousands of years prior to
1867. Perhaps 2017 really will be the year of reconciliation as some hope
it might be.

It also marks the 100th anniversary of the introduction of federal income
tax introduced by the Conservatives in 1917 as a temporary measure
necessitated by our involvement in the First World War.

Specifically, the conscription of 100,000 Canadian men into the army put a
strain on the government's finances. War bonds and other mechanisms of
sustaining our efforts were no longer going to cover the costs.

The government chose to impose the costs directly on Canadian workers
through a progressive scheme of taxation.

Many pundits over the years have commented on the temporary nature of the
initial income tax act but it is yet to be repealed. Indeed, it wasn't
long before all of the provinces followed suit and personal income tax
became an integral part of our lives. It has been said only two things are
certain in life - death and taxes - but personal income taxes are a
relatively recent certainty.

In any case, Canadians have two birthdays to celebrate this year and all
the more reason to party as a country. But what does 2017 have in store?
No one really knows. Prognosticating about the future is a bit of a fool's
game. About the only thing anyone can say with certain is neither the
Canucks nor the Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup this year.

That said it is always fun to speculate at this time of year. There are
some things which will likely come to pass in the months ahead. For
example, the federal government seems to be determined to pass some form
of legislation which will legalize marijuana. A number of states south of
the border have already done so and it would seem time for Canada to catch
up.

Legalizing would also be a great cash grab as the sale would be subject to
federal taxes in much the same way as tobacco and liquor are taxed.
Further, the decrease in the amount of time and energy spent by police
forces pursuing individuals involved in the marijuana trade would
substantially alter the structure of law enforcement.

However, there are significant health issues which will arise out of the
use of marijuana. Like cigarettes, smoking marijuana leads to lung cancer.
It has been estimated that a single joint has the same carcinogenic load
as a package of filtered cigarettes. The reason is two-fold as joints
don't have filters and the smokers tend to hold the smoke in their lungs
longer.

Down the road, the decision to legalize may end up costing more in health
care dollars than it raises in taxes.

Another surety for 2017 is our provincial election. We go to the polls in
early May and it looks like Premier Christy Clark with her B.C. Liberals
will enjoy another victory. Canadians tend to vote governments out rather
than in and our present provincial government hasn't really done enough to
earn the ire of the electorate.

Many other events will take the stage in 2017 but with our birthday
celebration going on, we will hopefully have a great year!
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