Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:
It has been some months since I’ve felt the burning need to communicate with you, and I hesitate to do so at this time of goodwill to one and all.
I am disappointed in your past responses to my letters of concern regarding the unequal treatment between young seniors and older seniors.
Your response is still being awaited. Sir, I know you are busy, but it is very bad manners to ignore correspondence, not once, not twice but three times from someone who in the past has attempted to find excuses for some of your actions relating to seniors.
Perhaps someone in your office didn’t do the press checks thoroughly enough on those previous occasions, but you know, I still have the response from your dad when he was in your shoes so surely he would have taught you the basics of keeping the crowd happy.
But now to deal with the present and your most recent manoeuvre that I suspect you thought would be a dream come true for those you serve. Instead, it is a nightmare that even a walk in the snow might never bring you clarity of thought.
On the face of it, getting rid of the GST might have been a welcome gesture, if only you knew something about the shopping habits of most people I know.
Starting your stunt on Dec. 14 drives home to us clearly that you do not do the Christmas shopping.
Shoppers don’t rush out on that date to buy what Johnny and Sally have asked Santa to provide in their stockings. Those items have been hidden away for weeks, even months by parents and grandparents who are savvy about when to shop to avoid Christmas morning tears.
Should those purchases now be returned for a refund, with the idea of being at the shops bright and early on the appropriate date to re-purchase those toys just to save the GST and the harmonized tax in certain provinces?
And how about the money spent on food and beverages for office parties around the country? Those celebrations will most likely be over before Dec. 14 with hosts and hostesses having paid the full amount of taxes on their chips and dips and cheese and crackers. Merry Christmas to all of them.
I haven’t heard them myself, but I’ve read complaints from business owners who will have to bear the burden of having their cash registers re-programmed to cancel the tax and then to re-program them again when the tax goes back on — unless of course, you and Chrystia Freeland, beaming there at your news conference, have a plan to eliminate the GST, finally following a promise of a long-time-ago politician who became prime minister. Hmmmm!
But GST aside, my main beef with you in this letter pertains to how you do not respect your elders.
There was excitement, for a moment, when you made the announcement of the $250 cheques that would be distributed to certain Canadians “who worked” in 2023.
In other words, senior citizens or retirees will be left out in the cold, with nary a dime coming our way. Shame on you, Mr. Prime Minister.
I’ll have you know this senior citizen worked every day in 2023. Maybe the seniors in this house didn’t go to an office but we worked maintaining a household and paying taxes, growing vegetables, writing stories and columns, and volunteering in the community to pay for projects not covered by government grants.
And most importantly, we worked at keeping our minds sharp and able to recognize a boondoggle when we see and hear it. Believe me, keeping up with the fantasies of political leaders is the most difficult work of all.
So Justin, I will be truthful with you: this senior, and others, are already preparing lumps of coal for your Christmas stocking. But wait: will we have to pay GST on that lump or is it tax-free as long as we buy it after Dec. 14?
But in the Canadian spirit, we wish you a Christmas that is merry and bright, even if adult diapers are not covered by your largess. Humbug.
Joyce Walter can be reached at [email protected]
