In an outrageous subversion of Canadian legal and historical traditions, the provincial government assumes that homeowners are guilty of speculation, until they prove themselves to be innocent.
Blanket application of the need to annually prove exemption or be arbitrarily taxed is unacceptable, and the relevant legislation should be revoked forthwith.
Not only is this unacceptable in principle, it introduces an expensive, unnecessary bureaucratic nightmare. The NDP-Green alliance should apply itself to solving real problems such as closing open-ocean fish farms. It appears to apply its efforts, instead, to expanding bureaucracy and eroding the rights of citizens.
I have a modest proposal: Each month, elected members of the governing parties should be required to file a form documenting that they have sufficiently met the requirements to receive a paycheque from public funds for their services.
Ron Jakimchuk
North Saanich
