The petition proponents for the #ScraptheTax initiative have added to their information flow this week, providing a snippet of what is apparently a provincially commissioned study from 2019 that explored port themes in Prince Rupert, a study which apparently has not as of yet been released.
The report, as noted by Mayor Lee Brain through his social media stream on Monday was accessed through a Freedom of Information request, the mayor stating through his commentary how "thanks to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request - we know the truth".
The proponents of the Scrap the Tax movement provided a bit more background on the topic through their own Social Media stream, as well as on the petition website.
Some of their information roll out covers the same notes as the Mayor, the remainder of their latest dispatch offering up an excerpt from their FOI request.
Included on the petition website is an excerpt from the report that was accessed through that FOI request, featuring an interview with the PRPA's Ken Veldman, the Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability.
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And rather than release the full report to allow residents and potential signatories to the petition to put the entire report into any context or gain a full overview of the government study, they will as they note in their PS, provide for excerpts of it through the week, those to be delivered through their social media relay.
Excerpts one imagine's which will be selected to serve their narrative of the petition focus.
The Prince Rupert Port Authority has a fairly extensive communication apparatus in place at the Atlin Terminal offices, so if there is any 'fact checking' or context to share on the FOI release, or any other themes directed their way by the Mayor and Scrap the Tax proponents, they probably have a way to share them with the public.
The larger issue perhaps, is that of a report commissioned in 2019 by the current provincial government that has yet to be released and that's a topic for North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice to take some leadership on.
Ms. Rice has yet to make any statement related to the petition which was launched on September 9th, offering no indication to date as to what her thoughts, or that of the government may be on the topic that has overshadowed the current civic election period and become a significant talking point for many of the candidates, mostly at the expense of many other potential election themes.
Since she's a member of the governing party in Victoria that apparently commissioned the report in 2019, the North Coast MLA should offer up an explanation why it has yet to be released.
As the Mayor's Social media stream from UBCM last week indicated, Ms. Rice did have some conversations with the Prince Rupert delegation to the convention, the Mayor indicating that Scrap the Tax was one of the key talking points.
Since the Port Tax Cap appears to have been the subject of some extensive conversation last week in Whistler, Ms. Rice should now provide some guidance for her constituents as to the scope of the discussion with municipal officials, as well as to offer up whatever solutions she may have to try to find a path to resolving the issue.
As for the petition, the last update on the various platforms for the Scrap the Tax petition has the signature count at just under 1,000, that account of the participation level coming from a September 17th update.
Past notes on the Scrap the Tax petition can be reviewed through our Council Discussion archive, while provincial themes are explored here.
The truth is out. Actually only some of it? According to the North Shore News, 13 May 2019 edition, "the Ministry of Finance has alerted the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, all of the waterfront businesses, and the municipalities that host port properties that the Port Competitiveness Initiative is up for review."
ReplyDeletePort stakeholders had until 15 June 2019 to tell the province whether they wished to be part of the review. PRPA evidently took advantage of the opportunity to participate. Did the City of Prince Rupert notify the Province that it wished to participate in the review? If not, why not? Perhaps the mayor could reveal the truth of what the City did or, as seems more likely, did not do in response to the Province's invitation.
The article notes that North Vancouver MLA Browinn Ma commented that North Van and Prince Rupert were "particularly hard hit by the caps."
https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/province-to-review-port-tax-regime-amid-business-concerns-3100792
At his State of the City presentation Mayor Brain declared Prince Rupert "Open for Business" and added that "It's not 2012 anymore."
ReplyDeleteBut I wonder what Vopak must be thinking as they mull over a decision to invest in our community. Is this location too politically volatile to invest in? Is Prince Rupert truly open for business? What message are we sending to potential investors?
Vopak isn’t in the caps, nice try tho
DeleteAll that is needed is to designate port land under the PPTA is a regulation passed by order-in-council. In Vopak's case it's probably too early to say.
DeleteActually no. the cap clearly says no "crude oil or petroleum fuel products". Vopak is not eligible. But now that you mention it........ All that is needed to remove Prince Rupert under the PPTA is a regulation passed by order-in-council.
DeleteIt isn't only about tax caps. It's about an investment climate. The mayor tried to assert that Rupert's open for business since he's been Mayor but I'd argue that more opportunity has walked away under this regime than any other before in history. Is it all their fault? No, but we certainly aren't an investment friendly community.
DeleteSee this comment from the Mayor about the Aurora LNG project. You don't set an investment friendly climate by treating investors like a burden. In the full letter you'll see the proponent asked to invest in and compensate small business to counteract the negative effects of this project. Ridiculous! Is it any surprise that they cancelled the project?
".. the mayor points out “the significant infrastructure costs, which will be borne by the city in the event of project approval.”
https://www.thenorthernview.com/news/aurora-lng-puts-its-environmental-review-process-on-hold/
Full letter can be viewed starting on page 99.
file:///C:/Users/attun/Downloads/Comments%20received%20for%20the%20January%2016%20-%20March%209,%202017%20public%20comment%20period%20on%20the%20Application%20for%20an%20Environmental%20Assessment%20Certificate.pdf
It's not 2012 anymore? It's not 2017 either yet this continues while prospective investors look on.
I read this stuff in wonder. The mayor and council were fine awarding the CN Station contract and then the RCMP building with little thought to protection of the taxpayer yet here they are lobbying for more dollars from the port.
ReplyDeleteAs a taxpayer I had the belief the mayor and council were working on our behalf. While the port money fight might have some valid points there is no way the contracts let for the two mentioned projects were in the taxpayer's best interests. The mayor wants it both ways.
It’s too bad this peanut gallery of small disgruntled opinion makers aren’t running for council!
ReplyDeleteIt is important to respect diversity of opinion, difficult though that may be at times.
DeleteI guess I might be considered in the peanut gallery. The mayor for sure and I think Blair have been in office for eight years. They didn't use the seat of the city office to bring "Scrap the Tax" forward. They have chosen not to run in the upcoming election so to me their comments are also statements from the peanut gallery.
Deletei guess all 1,000 rupert residents who signed the petition this past week are the peanut gallery too
DeleteWho says that no one is running for council? It's very possible that there's a Council candidate in our midst who's reluctant to speak openly considering that the petition group is keeping and sharing a tally of who has signed the petition.
DeleteWhat exactly is Ms Rice supposed to make a statement in response to? Statements made by the mayor and unnamed proponents on Facebook? Assertions about "the truth" and "revelations" without full disclosure of the source of those claims? An online petition being organized by unnamed parties that at this point does not appear to have been submitted?
ReplyDeleteMs Rice is in a rather odd position. To be submitted to the legislative assembly in accordance with standing orders a petition has to be presented by a sitting MLA (who is not necessarily for the constituency where the petition originated). No MLA is required to present a petition; it's at their discretion. Is it assumed that Ms Rice will present the petition whenever it is complete? Or have the proponents been talking to other MLAs about presenting the petition? Have they even thought things through to that stage.
With these outstanding questions and a rather unorthodox political narrative through social media, while a municipal election campaign is taking place, Ms Rice is well advised to treat the matter at arms length for the present.
Considering the Mayor and Councillor Mirau have used their savvy social media ways to accelerate the petition and discussion of it, as well as how it has formed the narrative of a number of Council members of late ... I don't think the MLA should get a bye on the issue.
DeleteShe must have an opinion as our elected MLA to the Legislature about an instrument of taxation administered by her gov't and any impact it may have on community.
Thus I think her constituents would appreciate some guidance from her on the topic. If only to explain why a report into the topic from 2019 has yet to be made public.
Something which had it been released previous, may have served to avoid the current level of political rhetoric/theatre and maybe offered some clarity to the topic.
NCR
At the outset I would like to say that NCR has provided very good and responsible coverage of this topic and the political theatre surrounding it.
DeleteThe Mayor has been commenting like he's his own branch of government, separate from the council, which creates more than a little ambiguity. That has been characteristic of much of his time in office. Councillor Mirau, in contrast, has made clear that he has been communicating as citizen Mirau, a member of the local peanut gallery.
Why the current elected council has not put a formal position on the record over these past years is anyone's guess. They've talked a bit, but officially they've abstained from the issue. There is nothing formal from them for the MLA or anyone else in government to respond to.
The MLA may have an opinion, which she may offer within her party and the government, and like any other MLA she is free to ask questions of cabinet ministers, either by letter or during Question Period, but there is no time allocated in the legislature for MLAs to rise and express their personal opinions. They speak in a manner consistent with their party's position, which in her case means the government's position, and if they break that trust they risk being ejected from caucus and losing their executive and committee appointments and associated sinecures. On this issue, the lead person is the minister of finance, not the MLA for Prince Rupert.
As for a report that has been accessed through an FOI, there are many uncertainties. The review commenced in 2019, but that does not mean that it has concluded. Issues can be under review for years. Governments produce a great many reports, but not all of them are published as a matter of course, like for instance reports to legislative committees or reports resulting from statutory inquiries. There is a duty to respond to FOIs, but there is no duty to publish and make readily accessible to the public at large every one of the great many reports that are prepared within government.
Whether the report released through an FOI is final and determinative, interim, or (my bet in this case) merely advisory during the course of an ongoing ministry review is unknown. Statements about the "truth" having come out and "revelations" may generate interest or excitement through social media, but it is hard to give them much credence when the FOI applicant is unwilling to disclose the full contents. The big reveal, if it ever comes, may be a big nothingburger or amenable to a simple explanation.
Apparently more details will come out in a slow drip, but that is likely to keep the issue alive on Facebook to delay local interest inevitably shifting to something more interesting, like the municipal election for instance.
Citizens are free to submit FOIs, discuss issues, even if a lot of what is said is incorrect, misleading, hyperbole, theatrical, or intended to encourage a particular result when another course may make more sense. There is also a right to gather signatures for a petition and submit it to the legislature, which will then leave it to any MLA at their discretion to present it to the assembly or to decline to do so. Until such time as citizens submit a petition that meets the requirements of the Legislature's standing orders, Ms Rice does not have anything to respond to. She does not get a "bye" on the issue. If she is asked by the petitioners to present the petition to the assembly, she will have to make a decision. Until then the prudent course is to keep an open mind and wait until the political theatre wraps up and a formal document is in hand, assuming that one is submitted in proper form.
24 YouTube views for his book launch
Delete71 likes on a Facebook page for a hashtag
That doesn’t scream social media savvy.
If the petition gets presented by an MLA it gets air, if it doesn’t let the new council move on to more pressing civic issues.
Finding the dialogue on the topic here fascinating, and while I may still respectfully disagree on the function of the MLA and her role in the current tempest ... I do appreciate the well thought out points provided to the issue both pro petition and con.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that and continue on! The thing I enjoy about the blog, is I learn as much from the readers as I do from the source material that generates the stories ...
For those wondering why their comments perhaps aren't here, see the outline for commentary at the bottom right column, chances are you're in those parameters
NCR
There is no doubt an important issue here, but the way that it is being handled by the anonymous group organizing the petition and by the mayor gives cause for concern, and may also explain why the MLA is withholding comment.
ReplyDeleteBrief excerpts from a 2019 report to the Province have been described by the mayor as a "blockbuster" and "revelations".
However, the full contents of the report have not been disclosed and the context is unclear.
The expert author is not named, but is described as also having been a member of the "Municipal Property Tax Commission". Is the author Enid Slack who wrote the 2010 report of the "Municipal Property Tax Fairness Commission"? If so, a copy can be downloaded here: https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/imfg/uploads/30/mpptfc_presentation_sept_2010___sept_15.pdf
That report studied the effects of the tax cap on the various municipalities within Port Metro Vancouver and concluded that the port tax cap "as the solution chosen was not unreasonable. Compensation for the foregone revenues from capping is the key to the reasonableness of the policy" and "Municipalities should be fully compensated for the effects of the policy" (p.34). The report did not recommend scrapping the tax.
Perhaps the 2019 report says something different and was written by someone else, or was written by Mr Slack but he changed his mind. Until the report is released in full any conclusions about what it says should be approached with caution. Hopefully the petition organizers or the mayor will see fit to release the 2019 report in full as a matter of proactive disclosure.
Dr. Enid Slack of the University of Toronto is a highly respected expert on municipal taxation. Her reports pack a lot of weight. Odd that they have not released the report.
ReplyDeleteMLA Rice doesn't have to acknowledge the petition, but she should be asked to defend her governments position on the following.
ReplyDeleteWhy did her government blindly throw $25 million at port related activities instead of at our infrastructure?
https://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/local-news/project-to-expand-export-capacity-at-port-of-prince-rupert-3742462
Why has none of the collected cannabis tax gone to cities like Prince Rupert who are being exploited by medicinal growers because of compliance gaps at the provincial and federal levels?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-has-received-more-than-112m-in-excise-cannabis-taxes-none-has-gone-to-municipalities-1.6489904
It is fine to scream injustice. I would like to be able to applaud the work the mayor has done in the last eight years. Unfortunately, he is still in the screaming stage.
ReplyDeleteOk I got it I'm not running for council, so I guess this observation is from a member of the peanut gallery.
The peanut gallery is an honourable podium at least to some extent or quite a bit of the time.
Delete