When my grandchildren were small, I made a deal with some of them that when I was old, they would take me around and about in a wheelbarrow.
They’ve never done it. When I mentioned this my two oldest great-grandchildren (cousins) the other day, GGS#1 looked at me like I was crazy, GGD#1 burst out laughing. As it happened, her mother (one of the potential wheelbarrowers) overheard the conversation. She pointed out I had threatened to visit said grandchildren when they had homes of their own and jump on their beds and eat all the good stuff in their fridges (payback time) and I haven’t done it. Yet. Jumping on beds might be a challenge but I certainly could raid their fridges.
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Quesnel council is seeking a branding consultant to help the city find a new identity and shed its reputation as a “rough-and-tumble logging town.” I hope they have better luck than we did a few years ago when we nearly became the Republic of Life.
Question: What’s wrong with the logging or cowboy image?
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Haven’t heard any yowling yet about B.C. car insurance rates increasing yet but plenty of people are peeved about increased hydro and health insurance rates. Critics say B.C. Medical Services Plan premiums are a regressive form of taxation that puts some $2.5 billion in the government’s coffers. It certainly helps balance the budget but it puts another dent in people’s pocket books.
According to B.C. Finance Minister Michael de Jong, low-income families in B.C. might pay more than double the total tax they would in Alberta or Quebec, but less than they would in other provinces. Mr. de Jong says B.C. had the lowest provincial personal income taxes for individuals earning up to $122,000 in 2016, and that in most wage brackets, we are second or third lowest in the country. However, according to The Tyee, a table at the back of the Budget and Fiscal Plan — 2016/17 to 2018/19 shows poorer families actually do worse in B.C. when the overall tax picture is considered.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.