No Tax for Pan Am (Toronto, 2015)
Dear Prime Minister Harper, Premier McGuinty, and Mayor Miller:
I am adding my name to this petition demanding that the governments of Canada, Ontario, and Toronto cancel their proposal to force Canadian taxpayers to pay to host the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
The proposal to make taxpayers foot the bill for the $1.7 billion cost of hosting the 2015 games was made back in 2008, when the impact on Canada of the world-wide recession was not yet clear. The impact is clear now. Taxpayer funding for Pan Am must be reconsidered.
From British Columbia to Newfoundland & Labrador, health care is in a shambles. Our schools have no text books and many are being closed for budgetary reasons. Gun shots are more common than ever in our cities. We need better health care, better schools, and safer streets. Those needs will not be met by borrowing $1.7 billion to host the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
In Toronto, the municipal government is on the verge of insolvency. Ontario is now borrowing an additional $18 billion every year just to pay already-existing expenses: the total Ontario debt is growing, as a result. The federal government is looking at deficit spending as well. Borrowing an additional $1.7 billion dollars so that Toronto can host the 2015 Pan Am Games %u2013 instead of letting Lima, Peru or Bogota, Columbia host the games - will force Canadian taxpayers to pay interest on that money in the range of an additional $100 million every year. That is $100 million dollars - every year, even for years after the Pan Am Games are over - that could have paid for medical services and equipment, for text books, or for safer streets.
Our economy is struggling. Canadians are losing jobs by the tens of thousands per month. If Canada's economy is to improve, people need to be able to invest their earnings in long-term, ongoing, profitable industries that will employ people. Stadiums and soccer fields built for the 2015 Pan Am Games will ultimately lose money, not make money. And any Pan-Am Games jobs will be lost as soon as the games are over. And the cost of maintaining Toronto's Pan-Am Games buildings and fields will drain government coffers for years to come.
It would be wrong to use federal, provincial, and municipal tax revenues to fund the 2015 Pan Am Games. Prime Minister Harper, Premier McGuinty, and Mayor Miller: I am asking you to re-evaluate federal participation in the Toronto bid, and responsibly to announce the cancellation of the government%u2019s initial proposal to have taxpayers foot the bill for Toronto's 2015 Pan Am Games bid.
Contact Information:
YouTube: www.youtube.com/notaxforpanam
twitter: www.twitter.com/notaxforpanam
Dear Prime Minister Harper, Premier McGuinty, and Mayor Miller:
I am adding my name to this petition demanding that the governments of Canada, Ontario, and Toronto cancel their proposal to force Canadian taxpayers to pay to host the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
The proposal to make taxpayers foot the bill for the $1.7 billion cost of hosting the 2015 games was made back in 2008, when the impact on Canada of the world-wide recession was not yet clear. The impact is clear now. Taxpayer funding for Pan Am must be reconsidered.
From British Columbia to Newfoundland & Labrador, health care is in a shambles. Our schools have no text books and many are being closed for budgetary reasons. Gun shots are more common than ever in our cities. We need better health care, better schools, and safer streets. Those needs will not be met by borrowing $1.7 billion to host the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
In Toronto, the municipal government is on the verge of insolvency. Ontario is now borrowing an additional $18 billion every year just to pay already-existing expenses: the total Ontario debt is growing, as a result. The federal government is looking at deficit spending as well. Borrowing an additional $1.7 billion dollars so that Toronto can host the 2015 Pan Am Games %u2013 instead of letting Lima, Peru or Bogota, Columbia host the games - will force Canadian taxpayers to pay interest on that money in the range of an additional $100 million every year. That is $100 million dollars - every year, even for years after the Pan Am Games are over - that could have paid for medical services and equipment, for text books, or for safer streets.
Our economy is struggling. Canadians are losing jobs by the tens of thousands per month. If Canada's economy is to improve, people need to be able to invest their earnings in long-term, ongoing, profitable industries that will employ people. Stadiums and soccer fields built for the 2015 Pan Am Games will ultimately lose money, not make money. And any Pan-Am Games jobs will be lost as soon as the games are over. And the cost of maintaining Toronto's Pan-Am Games buildings and fields will drain government coffers for years to come.
It would be wrong to use federal, provincial, and municipal tax revenues to fund the 2015 Pan Am Games. Prime Minister Harper, Premier McGuinty, and Mayor Miller: I am asking you to re-evaluate federal participation in the Toronto bid, and responsibly to announce the cancellation of the government%u2019s initial proposal to have taxpayers foot the bill for Toronto's 2015 Pan Am Games bid.
Contact Information:
YouTube: www.youtube.com/notaxforpanam
twitter: www.twitter.com/notaxforpanam
We the undersigned demand that the governments of Canada, Ontario, and Toronto cancel their proposal to force Canadian taxpayers to pay to host the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
The proposal to make taxpayers foot the bill for the $1.7 billion cost of hosting the 2015 games was made back in 2008, when the impact on Canada of the world-wide recession was not yet clear. The impact is clear now. Taxpayer funding for Pan Am must be reconsidered.
From British Columbia to Newfoundland & Labrador, health care is in a shambles. Our schools have no text books and many are being closed for budgetary reasons. Gun shots are more common than ever in our cities. We need better health care, better schools, and safer streets. Those needs will not be met by borrowing $1.7 billion to host the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto.
In Toronto, the municipal government is on the verge of insolvency. Ontario is now borrowing an additional $18 billion every year just to pay already-existing expenses: the total Ontario debt is growing, as a result. The federal government is looking at deficit spending as well. Borrowing an additional $1.7 billion dollars so that Toronto can host the 2015 Pan Am Games - instead of letting Lima, Peru or Bogota, Columbia host the games - will force Canadian taxpayers to pay interest on that money in the range of an additional $100 million every year. That is $100 million dollars - every year, even for years after the Pan Am Games are over - that could have paid for medical services and equipment, for text books, or for safer streets.
Our economy is struggling. Canadians are losing jobs by the tens of thousands per month. If Canada's economy is to improve, people need to be able to invest their earnings in long-term, ongoing, profitable industries that will employ people. Stadiums and soccer fields built for the 2015 Pan Am Games will ultimately lose money, not make money. And any Pan-Am Games jobs will be lost as soon as the games are over. And the cost of maintaining Toronto's Pan-Am Games buildings and fields will drain government coffers for years to come.
It would be wrong to use federal, provincial, and municipal tax revenues to fund the 2015 Pan Am Games. Prime Minister Harper, Premier McGuinty, and Mayor Miller: I am asking you to re-evaluate federal participation in the Toronto bid, and responsibly to announce the cancellation of the government's initial proposal to have taxpayers foot the bill for Toronto's 2015 Pan Am Games bid.
Contact Information:
YouTube: www.youtube.com/notaxforpanam
twitter: www.twitter.com/notaxforpanam
Dear Prime Minister Harper, Premier McGuinty, and Mayor Miller: I added my name to this petition cause i think it is completely ridiciulous that Canadians would be forced to pay taxs on the Pan Am games for 2015. I demand that the goverment of Canada cancels there proposal.
NO MORE TAXATION for corporate indulgence PERIOD
The waste isn't limited to Toronto, of course. Our Mayor (of Welland, in the Niagara Peninsula) has been fixated on making our depressed manufacturing town into a fancy tourist destination in 2015, with the rowing competitions to take place on the Welland Canal. In the meantime,the rate of joblessness and homelessness increases every day, and we are about to lose our hospital services because the province can't afford health care for anyone who doesn't live in a large city. It's high time we kicked out these politicians whose priorities are so screwed up!
I believe that it is not the right time for this magnitude of Ontario taxpayer's money (1.7 billion dollars Canadian) to be spent on a sporting event, given the state of the local economy in Southern Ontario.Instead money should be spent on increasing EI benefits and job creation through stimulus spending on things such as, public infrastructure.
The games are clearly not a benefit to the vast majority of Toronto residents. I'm already irritated that the government has used my tax dollars to promote the games: http://www.toronto2015.org. And I'm irritated because I have to waste my time trying to protect my eranings from idiots. Wouldn't it be nice if our municipal, provincial, and federal politicians had even a limited understanding of economics? I didn't notice any questions like "What is the estimated return on investment? And how was this calculated?", on the web site. I wonder why this isn't a "frequently asked question". It's likely the only question that tax payers want to have answered. Wouldn't it be a good question to first answer when proposing to spend a billion dollars or more of tax payer money? HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS?
If Toronto wins the bid to host the Pan Am games in 2015, it will cost our children and grandchildren billions of dollars. The committee is expecting government to borrow $1.7 billion to host the games which, given current deficits, will not be paid off in our lifetimes. We will be paying millions of dollars in interest for many years, plus who knows how much to maintain the facilities after the games. Since when is it government’s responsibility to provide entertainment for its citizens, especially when only a select few who can afford the price of the tickets?
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7:56 am PDT, Oct 13,
Kevin McIntosh, Canada
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Surely there are more important things to spend our hard earned taxes on. In fact, since you will need to borrow the money, it is our children's and grandchildren's money you are planning to spend. SHAME.
We don't need the games at all. If they try and finance it privately it will fail. After these 'privately funded games' are over the taxpayers will be stuck with the bill. My support for this petition should be in no way considered as support for the Freedom Party. They are, in my opinion, usually nutty.
We are in a recession. Mind you, it might create some temporary jobs. But, I would rather not pay for it because I don't think I would even bother to see or care about it. Why? The money could be used in many other ways.
The Conservative government is a joke. Listen to THE PEOPLE for once.
Please don't take part in this folly. Wasting tax dollars on a select few is hardly the best use of our money.
I absolutely do not support this massive waste of tax dollars. It is entirely unreasonable to expect the citizens of Canada to foot the bill for something that will not benefit us. The money would be far better spent somewhere else.
I strongly feel that tax dollers should not be used for this purpose.
I believe the unlawful force of spending of tax payers money should be completley abolished. Most money are digital presets now, with "legal" tender notes making up a small amount of money in every country. The Gold Bullion system was barred out years ago. Find someone elses money to spend on these games and not someone who is working hard to make a living that you're taxing already.
we have more pressing issues than to host two weeks of sport. i have medical issues that don't get any support. use the money to pay off some of our debt or use it for the benefits of all canadians.
