Bell ought to review party’s core principles

I read with great interest the column regarding newly elected Green Party MLA Hannah Bell and the judgement taken against her by Canada Revenue Agency for unpaid taxes. MLA Bell doesn’t appear to be concerned about her $25,000 debt to the Federal Crown, but apparently the tax department is. Unfortunately, the MLA finds it acceptable to present herself as a poor single mother fallen on hard times and the big bad tax man giving her a hard time. That argument is just nothing less than offensive to single mothers and persons of low income who struggle on a daily basis to get by. Most of the disadvantaged people that I have been exposed to do not possess an MBA from UPEI or have the benefit of business dealings which include a consulting firm and partnership in at least two other businesses.

I have to tell you that I was genuinely impressed with her resume on the Green Party website. There’s a couple of points which need to be mentioned here. First off, you need to earn a substantial amount of money to wind up with a $25,000 tax bill. Second, the CRA does not arbitrarily file a judgment against every tax debtor. A judgement is taken in the worst of scenarios where payment options have been exhausted and the tax debtor either won’t cooperate with payment or there is a risk of loss to the Crown. And third, MLA Bell might want to get wrapped around the fact that all of these social programs that we enjoy – Employment Insurance, Canada Pension Plan, Disability Benefits, free Health Care, free Education, paved roads, snow removal, Police Protection, Fire Protection and on and on are ALL funded through our tax system.

With public office comes a higher expectation of standards from the general public. That bastardization of those principles is what upsets me in this situation. MLA Bell may want to have a second read through the Green Party website… .”living within our ecological and financial means” is the first of the Party’s 6 core principles.

Dave Gallant, Summerside both have protection under the law, as we all do. When politicians run for office there must be a procedure that includes background checks. In Ms. Mundy’s situation, she ran an election platform, was elected and sworn in as Minister of Education. This lasted only one day, after information about her was leaked to the public.

In Ms. Bell’s situation, she ran a successful campaign and got elected in District 11. Days later it is reported she apparently owes $26,000 in personal taxes. From my experience as a police officer I can tell you anyone accused of any types crimes, criminal or civil, has the right to full disclosure. These actions against Ms. Mundy and Ms. Bell, could cause considerable damage to one’s reputation, and the people leaking this information go untouched.

I am speaking from experience. In 1997, I was falsely charged by Summerside Police, Summerside City Council, City Solicitor Ben Taylor and senior management. In 1999, I was exonerated of all charges, with the arbitrator ruling all these charges were false and bogus. With city council’s denial of any wrongdoing, I spent the 13 years in all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

To this date I have not received an apology. No one in my case was held accountable, for the damage caused. I for one can attest what Ms. Mundy and Ms. Bell are going through. The government of P.E.I. had better review the rules in terms of qualifications. Every Canadian citizen has fair rights under our Canadian Charter. In my case they totally violated my rights, costing taxpayers about $3.7 million, all because no one would not admit fault.

David Griffin, Summerside