Archive for April, 2009

During my last constituency week in Saskatoon-Humboldt, I had coffee shop stops in Middle Lake, Anaheim, and Leroy.  Here are some of the issues that your neighbours brought up with me at these shops.

Questions were raised about how much money was being transferred to municipal governments in this region from the gas tax transfer this year. (A list of the amounts for Saskatoon-Humboldt is on my website bradtrost.ca)

Individual immigration situations were brought to my attention that my office will be assisting with over the next few months.

Concerns were expressed about funds for seniors’ centres and how to fill out forms for grants. Frustrations were also expressed over the complexity of the grants.  Small towns do not have easy access to engineers and technical support. Since larger centres hire the same engineering firms, it is often difficult to find an engineer to complete smaller projects.

Credit and financing for small and medium business was also of concern.  Even though the businesses that I saw on my trip all seem to be doing well, financing problems around lines of credit was one important issue.

Unemployment benefits and issues involving maternity/paternity leave were also brought up in one community.  Concern was expressed that the limits on insurable income during paternity leave were discouraging younger couples from starting their families as soon as they would like. It was also noted that a low birthrate would cause demographic problems in the future.

These were some of the concerns that I heard when I did my latest coffee shop tour.  If you have similar concerns, contact my office.  I need to hear from you if you feel an issue is important and needs attention. If I don’t hear from you on an issue, I may miss an opportunity to represent you, so please remember to call. 

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt.  You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.

Taxes, we have them on our income, our goods, our businesses, our services,
and our property. Water, food, shelter, clothing they are all taxed.   In
Canada, there is almost nothing that we can do that is not taxed.  Sunlight
and fresh air are nearly the only two things people enjoy that aren’t taxed.
(History buffs may be interested to know that European countries used to tax
sunlight, by taxing the number of uncovered windows on a house.)

I don’t like taxes. I don’t like the high rates that take money out of my
pocket, or the complicated forms that I fuss with every year.  I don’t like
how high taxes reduce our standard of living and stifle initiative. While
these are all good reasons to oppose the complicated high tax system we have
in Canada, there is one fundamental problem I have with tax and spend
governments.  They all restrict freedom.

Taxation is a restraint on freedom; it is a form of slavery to the state.
It is a way of coercing behaviour from citizens, it is a way of manipulating
what we do, what we think, and how we act.  When the government taxes
property, it discourages saving and investing for the future:  it
manipulates what we do.  When the government gives subsidies, or tax credits
to advocacy groups or funds the media, it manipulates how we think.  When
the state taxes our incomes it manipulates what we do.

Many Canadians first came to Canada for freedom.  In Saskatchewan, pioneers
came here and settled our province, finding economic, political and
religious freedom.  It was because of this freedom and the better life it
offered that they made Saskatchewan their home.

When we, as Canadians, demand more government spending (and higher taxes
that accompany that spending) we turn our backs on our historical legacy; we
forget our own family histories.  Taxes and government spending need to go
down, not just for a more prosperous Canada, but for a freer one as well.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can
call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit:
Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always
appreciate your feedback.

On April 1st the federal Conservative government doubled the amount of money sent to the provinces and territories for municipal infrastructure. The money to Humboldt is doubling, (from $160,404 to $323,587). Municipal infrastructure funds from the federal gas tax transfer to all the towns and RMs in Saskatchewan is increasing. For example, Wakaw is going up from $27,475 to $55,425 and Cudworth’s allocation increased from $23,807 to 48,027.

The federal gas tax transfer was created because municipal governments are heavily dependent on property taxes to raise revenues for local services. Municipal governments can raise monies through other fees. But by in large, those revenues are limited to recovery of costs for services directly provided.

The federal government decided to take monies from the gas tax that you pay at the pump and give it directly to municipal governments for a number of reasons. Local governments have the freedom to fund more of their own projects. The certainty that comes along with the gas tax money also allows municipalities to better plan for future projects. Since municipal governments fix local roads, it is somewhat appropriate that it is gas tax revenue which is transferred back to fund these improvements.

So, while it’s not the major part of a municipal government’s revenue, the Gas Tax Fund is a permanent yearly transfer.  The gas tax transfer should help keep those property taxes down and fix a few roads in town.

For a complete list of what each town or RM will receive in Saskatoon-Humboldt this year, check out the list at the end of this column.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt.  You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.

This Friday I spent some time in prison. I was in good company though.  I attended an announcement at the Saskatoon Correctional Centre last Friday with Minister of Agriculture Gerry Ritz (the Federal Cabinet Minister for Saskatchewan) and provincial Justice Minister Don Morgan.

Currently, many criminals receive “bonus time” off of their sentences after they have been convicted and sentenced. Why?  Because of the time they have already spent in prison.  This can mean that for every day spent in remand before sentencing, up to three days can be taken off one’s sentence.  For example, a three year sentence can be reduced to one year if the time was all served before the trial.

This practice creates an incentive for a sharp defense lawyer to drag out the pre-trial period if he suspects his client is likely to be convicted.  As a result, actual prison sentences can be much shorter than the punishment judges are handing out.

Your Conservative government thinks this is wrong.  We believe a sentence should be the length of time that is actually stated by the judge in court when a criminal is convicted.  By changing the current policy, we will also encourage cases to get to trial faster. Hopefully, the judicial system will also save time and money.  The “three for one, get out of jail early policy” is ending, and not a day too soon.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt.  You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133 or drop by our two offices to visit: Saskatoon Monday-Friday or Humboldt Tuesday and Wednesday. I always appreciate your feedback.