Abbotsford MLA and BC Finance Minister Mike de Jong has tied this government’s labour dispute with BC teachers to corporate taxes as if the teachers were somehow asking the government to increase corporate taxes. He told CKNW today he would not increase corporate taxes in order to settle the teachers strike.
It was never made clear in the story what the two issues have to do with one another or why de Jong felt corporate taxes would have to be increased if the government settled with the teachers.
[excerpt] “With the BC government passing on the idea of binding arbitration, the province’s Finance Minister is weighing in what’s in the budget in terms of ending the teachers’ dispute.“Minister Mike de Jong says there’s room in the provincial budget for what he calls a moderate increase in wages for the B-C Teachers Federation, but refuses to bite on the idea of increasing corporate taxes.”
” … if there’s people out there hoping or waiting or holding their breath thinking there’s going to be tax increases to address the extraordinary demands of one group… to finance that, people’s property taxes would have to go up by $200 on average.”
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