Friday, October 15, 2004

Ottawa – After a week of hitting the federal Liberals daily with petitions by Mackenzie residents demanding their eligibility for the Northern Residents Tax Deduction be reinstated, Jay Hill, Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River, said today that his eight-year battle to restore the deduction to Mackenzie is far from over.

“Instead of presenting all of the signatures collected from Mackenzie residents in one single day, as is the typical practise for petitions, I stood every day this week in the House of Commons to present Mackenzie residents’ concerns,” said Hill. “I wanted to demonstrate to the federal government that it will not be allowed to simply dismiss this issue until it goes away.”

He added, “The Liberals have attempted to ignore Mackenzie for more than eight years, ever since the boundaries for eligibility for the Northern Residents’ Tax Deduction were inexplicably altered to exclude the town. I felt it wasn’t enough to make the government squirm about this injustice for just one day.”

Throughout the past eight years, Hill, and the Mayor, council and residents of the District of Mackenzie, have appealed to the federal government to reinstate the tax deduction. This included appeals to the former Finance Minister, Prime Minister Paul Martin. Current Finance Minister Ralph Goodale has failed to respond to Hill’s correspondence to him on the issue. Hill, who launched the petition campaign in May, said approximately 2,200 signatures have been collected so far.

Hill told MPs in the House, “As with many of Canada’s northern and remote communities, it is difficult to attract and retain employees, such as skilled trades people and health care professionals, without this tax deduction which is designed to counterbalance the higher cost of living.”

Hill concluded, “The government’s inexplicable decision to revoke Mackenzie’s eligibility for the Northern Residents’ Tax Deduction is blatant discrimination, and I will continue to call upon the government to reverse that.”

For more information, please contact:
Jay Hill, M.P. (613) 947-4524 or (250) 787-119