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This morning, as I was reading the budget address(1), I came across two of Eric Cline's passages and I began to laugh thinking about the regressive and racist mentality at the core of Cline's Big Brain. These two passages refer to our provincial sales tax, that is the broadening of its base to include many more items, and its extension to off-reserve purchases by First Nations people. Timothy Shire has just published the excellent article "Education and Health Tax: Wider Based and Breaks the Treaties(2)" and I became overcome by emotion when I realized that my today's thoughts overlapped with his. However, my perception on the provincial sales tax has a kind of humorous slant which blends very well with the serious writing of Shire's article.

Cline introduces the changes to our provincial sales tax by stating "Our provincial sales tax is currently levied at the lowest rate in Canada and on the narrowest consumer base. This under-utilization of our sales tax is a primary cause for high personal income tax rates. Therefore, the sales tax rate will remain at six per cent, and the sales tax base will be broadened to include items taxed elsewhere." Now refer to the word under-utilization, and you reader tell me if this Big Brain of Eric Cline doesn't belong to our Mausoleum(3) being built in Saskatoon.

Since when is a tax, which is a levy or a burden to people ever under-utilized? It really takes the reductionist and legal eloquence of Eric Cline to highlight the regressive mentality of this government. Let us go on with the next passage "The introduction of a sales tax rebate to all low income people in Saskatchewan also makes it appropriate to examine past practices... Therefore, effective midnight tonight, the provincial sales tax will be extended to off-reserve purchases by First Nations people." This passage reflects the racist mentality of Honourable Eric Cline.

Instead to be proud of our cultural diversities, Cline labels our natives as a bunch of low income people who can now pay the provincial sales tax since there is now a sales tax rebate for low income people. This is an absurdity, a provocative and offensive language reflecting the racist mentality of this government. Rightly so, the Federation of Saskatchewan Indians has filed papers in court to challenge the government's extension of the sales tax to natives, and Timothy Shire has called this legal challenge "The Indian War of 2000."

While Eric Cline has presented the Saskatchewan's first Budget of the 21st century, Timothy Shire has stated that the provincial sales tax "could very well take us back to 1885."

Endnotes

Quote by Donella Meadows "challenging a paradigm is not a part-time job. It is not sufficient to make your point once and then blame the world for not getting it. The world has a vested interest in, a commitment to, not getting it. The point has to be made patiently and repeatedly, day after day after day" ftp://sysdyn.mit.edu/ftp/sdep/Roadmaps/RM1/D-4143-1.pdf http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf/meadows/default.htm

1. Budget Address: A Plan for Growth and Opportunity, Honourable Eric Cline, Minister of Finance, Government of Saskatchewan, March, 2000 http://www.gov.sk.ca/finance/budget/budget00/2000papers.htm

2. Education and Health Tax: Wider Based and Breaks the Treaties, by Timothy W. Shire, April 1, 2000

3. The U of S Synchrotron: A Mausoleum for a Museum Mentality, by Mario deSantis, November 16, 1999