Canada could be a land of THERE is a way to get past the divisive policies our elected leaders foist on us. Away to make up for being saddled with the cost of billions of dollars worth of to ameliora the price of bloated state bureaucracies, which rob the poor and reward the adminis- way to COMpensate some tor the wild spending of our tax dollars on more pro- grams like national day care; a way to dull the pain of the robbery that yielded the bud- get surplus; a way to sweeten the bitter pill of bracket creep; a way to numb the reality of the 73% projected hike in CPP taxes. The answer to both the questions of national unity and fiscal woes, I suggest, may very well fic in tax havens on native land! The idea is delicious; poetically just, if you will. But it requires that Canadians chal- lenge their notion of what it means to be Canadian. Let me explain: it has been said that Canada is the q tessential post-modern state. Those who like what vice-regal serdcas ol, Lube & Fier ‘ fearerey. 21 pt. Safety check, 15 minutes - FAST! inciudes up to 5 litres of 1Ow30 Quakerstate soit Bez Marine Drive 980-9115 £:00amn-6:00pm, Sun. 9:00am-5:00pm Expires Dec. 1/99 Rig connent Adrienne Clarkson calls the experiment that is Canada probably enjoy the decon- struction this potage stands for. You hate tradition, Istory, religion, scholarship, duty, and you like moral relativism and hold that john Raulston Saul is a thinker (rather than Allen Bloom) — then Canada is your place. But if you have grown weary from the destruction brought on by the politics of privilege and petulance, then my little scheme, which essen- tially advocates you ditch all that for some /aises faire and pragmatism, might capture your imagination, or, at the very least, make you smile. No need to call me callous for recommending we aban- B “ NATIVE JEWELLERY/ WEDDING RINGS” 441 West 3rd Street, orth Vancouver 988-9215 Iris. a wonderful feeling to experience the support shown to me last Saturday. I pledge to pursue my be ot Sete your concerns efs and John Clark 925-1912 “Tt i d E i don the hope for lofty ideals iike unity, justive (the meaning of which evades us} and other noble credo, and settle for keeping our hard-earned cash. This is nothing to scoff at. ‘There is something to be said for, let's call it, pecuniary panty. It is conducive to peace and prosperity. Ry encouraging First Nations, on the brink of separating fram Canada, to ¢ banking their New Economy, and turn their te tories into tax havens for the besieged taxpayer, we will feave the Grits and the local butfoonery in B.C. in d Gasping for air, they will bi And what could be sweeter, pray tell? Above all, where there once was resentment tawards First Nations for their mercenary pursuit of land, cash and speciai status, there shall be harmony and good will. The Kahnawake Mohawks in Quebee, smart people that they are, have already begun to investigate how far they can push the envelope of self-gov- ernment. As the National Post edito- d rather sourly, the band ISALE*=" was looking to rurn its territa- v into “an offshore tas haven, complete with bank, securities exchange and its own separate regulatory authority.” Like Barbados, the Channel Islands, and Switzerland all do, the Mohawks would like to offer Understandably, the fi government was apopt [tis one thing to piausly expand the definition of abo- riginal rights so obscenely make light of the token instruction that rights should be subject to reason- able limits. But it’s anotiter thing entirely to have to deal with the reality of autonomous chieftains with a will of their own and a good deal of deter- mination to exercise it. So the feds scrambled to invoke the Indian Act — the one they had previously denounced as parochial and bad. The act allowed them some grace: “The tax-free status of natives on reserves cannot be extended to non-natives,” for now, But not for long. Will Friday, November 26, 1999 - North Shore News - 7 happy tax not the Indian Act be repealed soon? nd please, don’t get despondent by the hices an addendum the Supreme Court attached to the Marshall decision (the decision that caused such civil strife in Adantic Canada). That “goods” atter- thought, which put some brakes on native rights, is anonuily, The Supreme justices will return to exercising their autocratic casuistry and expanding the detinition of native rights. Canada has long traded in her identity in favour of a hotchpotch of diluted ing stands for non- Americanism, non-patriotism, non-free enterprise, non-com- Petitiveness, non-privatization, and non-productivity. What kind of an identity by default is this? These tenets are no cause for puffery. They can easily be replaced. Let us be known rather as the happv aation of intra-bor- der tax havens. Treaties in B.C. will tra- verse the agreement-in-princi- ple stage and go on to be $49.95: (while stock ‘iast) when y you: - purchase a 20 piece or a 16 pi set of the following. Imperial Btue™ ‘Juice Metz ” special $359.95 ‘1-20 piece 1-16 piece $356.00 $336.75- $356.20 Harlequin $323.80 $327.00 havens finalized, during which native leaders ought to begin refining » their thoughts on this joint endeavour. Ong can extrapolate from Richard Czerlau’s disclaimer filled little book Jax Haven Read Map that the native reserve as tax haven will have to offer low tay rates or none at all, maintain seereey, nia banking and financial services part of its cconomy, get the accoutrements of mode! technology, and promote itself as a tax haven or official off shore financial centre. Anyone who wants to reduce taxes on income, on capital gains, on estates; or wishes to safeguard his or her assets; or does not want to be taken to the cleaners by a war- ring ex, or — naughty, — wants to turn a on an “active busi- ness” — will benefit from this arrangement. 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