No more sleeping......

THE SLEEPING GIANT
A commentary on the unused power of
the Canadian Voter.

By Victor Drummond ©
January 2008


There are a number of fairy tales and legends that tell of a giant who is asleep and/or unaware of the power the subject has over local conditions.

Nearly every Canadian has heard the story of Jack and the beanstalk.

If you take the position that Jack and his family had been victimized then the sleeping giant was the villain and deserved what he got when Jack chopped the beanstalk down.

In similar context there is an island visible from the shoreline of Thunder Bay Ontario – which is long and narrow and mound-like that the locals call the sleeping giant.

The sleeping giant island is a major landmark and the basis of two or three legends told by First Nations people. A common theme of the legends tell of how failing to fulfill a commitment to the great spirit resulted in a native being to turn into stone.

Then not far away -- in Georgian Bay -- there is a landmark on Beausoleil Island known as:- “The Giants Tomb”.

In this legend the dead giant got that way because he stumbled while carrying a mountain and when he fell the mountain shattered into 30,000 pieces. The mountain pieces landed in the waters of Georgian Bay and formed the 30,000 islands that are presently there.

The giant’s “tomb” was formed when the native people buried the dead giant in the debris from the shattered mountain that had landed nearby.

Both giants suffered misfortune due to their failure to apply their power and resources properly.

Canada apparently has another form of sleeping giant. Canadian citizens collectively who
continue to waste their vote on unworthy candidates for office -- especially at the federal level.

To some extent this giant did wake up momentarily in 2006 when they voted the prior non-representative government out of office.

Did the majority of voters change the party in power -- at that time -- because they recognized they were being exploited, not properly protected or even fairly represented by their elected Members of Parliament?

Did the majority of voters realize that many of them were being fleeced like sheep and their appeals for fair taxation were being totally ignored?

If that is what happened – then our sleeping giant may be waking up.

Was the Conservative government elected because they proposed a “fair taxation” policy?

I would like to believe that was a major reason.

Also I would like to believe the statement made by Jim Flaherty in January 2007 -- that the Conservative government intends to provide:- “Fair taxation for All Canadians.”

Unfortunately “all Canadians” have lost their RIGHT to fair taxation because of a defective bit of legislation that allows certain Canadians to be taxed on a theoretical – “income” – that never happened.

This loss of RIGHT still exists -- in spite of any and all guarantees -- under the Canadian Charter of rights and Freedoms.

Fair taxation can never be achieved until that legislation is corrected and people encumbered by taxes levied according to that legislation have been relieved of that tax and duly compensated.

The current government already admitted that tax was grossly unfair – when they passed the tax remission order -- to relieve a few JDSU victims in British Columbia.

When identical victims in Canada – including more in British Columbia – appealed to the government for the same consideration they were told the JDSU employee’s were a special case and that other identical victims did not qualify for the same consideration.

What unadulterated garbage of an excuse to be even more unfair.

The B.C. victims who were granted tax relief had been taxed on “income” they never received. So were all the other victims.

The B.C. victims had suffered loss of employment when the JDS plant closed.
So did a lot of other victims.

Some B.C. victims had to mortgage, or re-mortgage their homes, and deplete their bank accounts, RRSP, savings and/or borrow money to pay the unjustified tax.
So did a lot of other victims.

So far the current government action – to provide “fair taxation for all Canadians” – has been limited to purely cosmetic items.

A fair tax ombudsman – who when identified – is limited to operating within the existing legislation. (Totally useless.)

A commitment to provide some 40 fair tax ombudsman offices across Canada.

So far all the offices mentioned are existing Canada Revenue Agency offices – perhaps with a local tax appeals officer designated. (Totally useless)

Fair Taxation for all Canadians will remain a legend, a fairy tale, a myth – until the legislation that created this disaster is corrected and all the unjustified taxes extorted under that legislation have been restored to their rightful owners – with interest – or if deferred then cancelled.

If the Canadian giant – our voters – woke up to defeat those who tolerated this legal extortion from 1999 to 2006 – THEN STAY AWAKE and notify your riding MP candidate, i.e. commit to correcting this punitive and oppressive tax problem – or no vote.

Failing to receive such a commitment – then when the federal Election Day arrives register your protest by writing my name on your ballot as a write-in candidate.

Canadians do not need more elected representatives that won’t represent them or protect them from exploitation by their own government.

See you at the election polls on voting day, O’Grady.

Victor Drummond ©