Acting on a resolution from Convention 2011,
OPSEU president Smokey Thomas has called on Dalton McGuinty to
establish a commission to study tax fairness and public
services. If the Premier declines, OPSEU will organize a
commission itself
April 11, 2011
The Honourable Dalton
McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Room 281, Main Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, Ontario
M7A 1A1
Re: Ontario Needs a
Commission on Tax Fairness and Quality Public
Services
Dear Premier McGuinty:
The Drummond Commission
on Public Sector Reform is fatally
flawed because it is mandated to only look at the
spending side of the financial equation. It has not
been instructed to review the revenue side as well.
What we need instead is for your government to engage with the people of Ontario in a serious and ongoing conversation about
the value of public services and the tax system that
pays for them.
I urge your government to
establish a Commission on Tax Fairness and Quality
Public Services. I suggest the following three
priorities for this Commission:
1. Connect the
revenue side with the benefits of quality public
services. The Commission should examine the
value of public services in supporting families
and communities; the impact of public services
in attracting business
investments and creating jobs; the role of the
public sector in stabilizing the economy in
tough economic times, and the
revenue capacity needed to fund these services.
2. Propose
measures that will restore tax fairness to the
system. Tax fairness has been flipped upside
down in Ontario. Today, the
top 1% pay a smaller share of their income in
taxes than the 10% with the lowest income.
Personal income tax cuts
have overwhelmingly benefited the richest
Canadians while the rest of us are paying more
in user fees and sales, payroll and property
taxes. At the same time the Ontario and federal
government have been cutting taxes for the
wealthiest corporations. This kind of unfairness
in the tax system constrains the government’s
ability to provide high quality public services
and contributes to a growing income gap between
the richest and the rest of us.
3. Develop a Fairness
Test that would assess the impact of key tax and
spending policies in future provincial budgets
on income inequality. The large and growing gap
between the rich and lower income Canadians is
one of the most important social and economic
issues of our time. It is causing economic
instability, undermining social cohesion and
diminishing the quality of life of all
Canadians. Reducing income inequality must be
the overriding goal of future provincial
budgets.
It is crucial that a
Commission on Tax Fairness and Quality Public
Services involve a broad cross-section of the
public, especially those not traditionally involved
in the public sector reform and tax policy (like
economists, bank executives, lawyers and
accountants). The Commission should conduct town
hall meetings across the province and especially
encourage women, racialized people, the middle class
and low income Canadians to participate. This would
be the first comprehensive review and open dialogue
about Ontario’s tax system in the last 15 years.
Mr. Premier, times of great
need, we are told, are the times when true leaders
emerge and display the courage to set aside
political agendas for the sake of the public
interest and common good. The challenges facing
families in our province demands that kind of
courage from you.
If you are not prepared to
demonstrate this courage, the Ontario Public Service
Employees Union, under my leadership, will step up
and do so. OPSEU will establish a Commission on Tax
Fairness and Quality Public Services, hold town hall
meetings across the province, and engage the public
in a real dialogue about these issues. We will
produce a report and work with the rest of the
labour movement, our community allies and the public
at large to pressure your government to adopt the
recommendations.
OPSEU recognizes that the
public wants a leader who understands the value of
quality public services and is prepared to talk
straight about the need to pay for them through a
fair tax system. We hope you recognize this as well.
Sincerely,
Warren (Smokey) Thomas
President
WST/ab
copy to: Honourable Dwight
Duncan, Minister of Finance
Tim Hudak, Official Opposition Leader
Andrea Horwath, NDP Leader
OPSEU Executive Board
OPSEU Stewards
