During Question Period on March 6th in the PEI legislature, I asked questions to the Minister of Finance regarding the amount allocated to Tourism PEI in the operating budget, and if some sort of rebate or credit would be given to businesses paying credit card fees on HST they are collecting for government.
Lowering Property Taxes and Disconnecting from CPI
On May 19, 2023 I asked questions about rolling back property taxes to 2020 levels for all properties, and removing the link with CPI, which may actually be contributing to inflation. In particular the rent freeze coupled with rising property taxes has had a negative impact on affordable housing, as landlords are losing money and […]
Helping Islanders Who Are Struggling Financially
On November 29, 2022 I asked the Minister of Finance questions on helping Islanders who are struggling financially. First I asked how we can improve means testing to allow Islanders to qualify for help based on their current means – not last year’s income. I also asked about centralizing the means testing role to make […]
Public Account Work Plan 2018
As the new chair of the Public Accounts standing committee it was great to finally have our work plan meeting. I had been working with the clerk to schedule it since before Christmas but it was delayed due to unavailability of government members. Here is a summary of the meeting. Full records of the meeting […]
Kombucha – Allow Islanders to Buy Local!
The Guardian just reported that locally-made Kombucha from Heartbeet Organics has been banned from sale in restaurants while at the same time imported Kombucha is available for purchase in grocery stores. http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/local/teresa-wright-kombucha-crackdown-180995/ Another case where government not only doesn’t encourage buying local products but actively deters this (provincial protein tender is another – they specify […]
Liveable Income on PEI?
I recently posted the following job in North Rustico to Facebook, and it started a discussion about liveable income on PEI: Cook wanted – Casual Full-Time Year-Round $14/hour – 12 hour shifts – 3 days on / 3 days off rotating The question was posed to me, “Is this a liveable income on PEI?” My […]
Need Tax Help? It’s Available
Taxes are complicated – too complicated – and government needs to work to simplify them. Implementing a Basic Income Guarantee and raising the basic personal tax amount may help – but that’s another discussion. In the mean time a lot people, especially low-income Islanders, don’t file their taxes and miss out on money available to […]
Home Energy Audits
Did you know that the PEI government will pay half the cost of a home energy audit for your home? It costs $300 and they will pay $150. Just contact HouseMaster Inspection Services to book your home evaluation. Find out all the details on the PEI government website by clicking here. PEI Home Energy Audit […]
Will UPEI reduce pensions?
Rumours are out that UPEI will reduce pensions by using something other than the best 3 years of wages as the basis for pension payments. Those receiving pensions from UPEI have planned their retirement around the existing pension amounts, and it is unfair and wrong to make these sort of changes.
PEI Still Needs an Infrastructure Summit
In the Fall 2015 sitting of the PEI legislature I moved Motion #46 that Prince Edward Island hold a formal Infrastructure Summit. The purpose of such an infrastructure summit would be to bring together representatives of local governments, industry, environmental groups, and community organizations to identify projects that could make our infrastructure more sustainable environmentally and enable […]
