Dear Prime Minister Harper,
Let me apologize up front for the informality of this post, but hey; I figured that we could be a little less formal considering the fact that you technically work for me and I along with many other conservative minded Canadians were instrumental in getting you those cool digs at 24 Sussex. Feel free to call me Mark, all my friends do, and I think this discussion should start off on the right foot if we talk as friends.
First of all, Prime Minister Harper, I do want to offer a sympathetic ear regarding all the issues your government has had to deal with lately. The flood in Calgary, Alberta, and the recent tragedy in Lac Megantic, Quebec, certainly have captured the attention of all Canadians and I do not wish to minimize those issues in any way. So on that, thumbs up. I have some stuff I'd like to say about the Lac Megantic tragedy, but I am going to save that for a later Blog, because what happened there certainly deserves its own place here on the Web.
So Prime Minister Harper, it's no mystery what you've been up to. Heck, you can't turn on the CBC or CTV or pick up a copy of a newspaper to find out what your comings and goings are. Now that Rob Ford has escaped the boney clutches of Left Wing Wacko's appalled that Toronto was capable of emerging from a fiscal year with a surplus. Now that all alleged crack pipe hoopla has settled down, it seems that you have again become the man on the front pages.
With that in mind, I thought I'd update you on my situation here. As you know, the economy hasn't been all that hot. No worries, I don't blame you or your government, rather a bunch of A-Holes on Wall Street and Money Lenders with the fiscal sense of a 12 year old girl let loose in a shopping mall with a Platinum Master Card. So right out the gate, I'm not blaming you or the government, in fact I blame the whole fiasco on Greed. But, while we are talking about the economy I did want to bring up the fact that the region I am from, Ontario Canada, has taken a pretty hard hit in the jobs department.
Did I mention that I drive truck Prime Minister Harper? Oh no? Well, yeah I've been driving truck since 1998 after leaving the Canadian Military for medical reasons. Your predecessors, The Liberal Government, screwed me on my pension and showed me the door, but that's all water under the bridge now. I did what most soldiers do, I soldiered on in the face of adversity. I'm not even going to get into the nitty gritty details about how I sustained three separate leg injuries that resulted in three surgeries and after 12 years of service was given the old "Here's your hat, what's your hurry routine?" Nope, I came out, fought the good fight, and after being beaten down by that Wretched Quasi Judicial Body in Charlottetown PEI that call themselves veteran advocates I soldiered on.
Moving on, and forgetting old wounds and betrayals, I decided to focus on a new career that was effective in taking care of my family. At first I considered jumping feet first into the Tech Sector, but to the chagrin of many, I opted to become a truck driver. Truck Drivers, it seemed at the time, were in high demand and in fact after the Tech Bubble burst I was still driving down the highway taking care of my family. So I think it was a logical decision.
Fast forward to 2011 when the bottom really fell out of the economy here in Ontario. Many small trucking companies, unable to compete with high fuel prices, were gobbled up by larger companies who cut rates and forced many drivers to either work for a lot less or do what I did. What I did in 2012 was head West to the land of Milk and Honey. No, not Israel. Alberta actually, aka: Wild Rose Country, or as many Leftist refer to it: Redneckistan.
Just a point Prime Minister Harper. I appreciate Alberta, appreciate that they pay a decent wage and treat their workers with far more respect than any other Province I have worked in Canada. Now that's just my perspective, I am sure there are others who might disagree. Yet the endless workers from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia and a host of others might just agree with my stance that Alberta, above all others pays it workers fairly.
Part of your governments mantra has been to encourage Canadians who are out of work to pack up and head where the work is. Not an easy task, but many, including myself have taken that advice, but thanks to the economy in our home regions a complete move is not always practical. So what I call these migrant Canadians, borrowing from Mark Knopfler, are Economic Refugees, We leave our home and travel West to work and pay our mortgages and taxes while sacrificing time with family and hoping that someday we can return home for good.
Adapt and overcome, Prime Minister Harper, it's always been my motto, but sometimes you guys up in Ottawa don't make it all that easy. I was going to move to Alberta, but my house isn't riding all that high on the market these days. It''s a great house, nice deck in the back, finished basement, had it built only 8 years ago, but to sell it now and buy a similar place in Alberta would saddle me with an additional $100,000 on a mortgage my wife and I are trying to pay down. So, I guess you can understand that we really don't want to be paying a mortgage when we are in our 70's. So we, like many Canadians decided to become migrant workers. I'm usually gone for six to eight weeks and back for two. This is tough, but we do what we got to do. I know I've somewhat long winded, but I wanted you to know a bit about me so you understand when I offer some criticism. Here's the thing Prime Minister Harper, I spent approximately $5,500.00 on airfare last year and by gosh you know what? I can't claim a dime of that as a work expense on my taxes.
I know, unbelievable eh, but it's true. Why is that Prime Minister Harper? Why is it that Senators and Federal MP's get all sorts of allowances and expenditures including lucrative pension packages as well as travel assistance claims, but a bunch of Canadian Economic Refugees can't claim airfare on their taxes. I understand that MP's and Senators can even claim things like housing.
So that's really the question Prime Minister Harper. Why? Why is it you guys get a lucrative pension package after five years, but veterans have to fight tooth and nail against an untouchable body located Charlottetown PEI. Why is it, that travel expenses to and from Ottawa and around the world for MP's is not considered a perk, but a must and us folks who keep this economy moving and the tax dollars rolling in aren't given the same entitlement.
I think this is a valid question Prime Minister Harper. After all, you are the folks who encouraged us to go where the jobs are and by proxy you are benefiting from the tax dollars we provide to pay your wages as serving Members of Parliament. Perhaps the next time you see Jim, Flaherty not Morrison, you could ask him why this is and while your at it you could mention to him that there is a shelter for any Corporation that flies its employees to and from Alberta, but a lot of us flip the bill. And this isn't just truck drivers, but all workers who pay their own airfare. I mean isn't that a fair expense for staying employed and not drawing Employment Insurance?
So, I'm going to leave it there Prime Minister Harper. Perhaps, if you're in the Niagara Region when I am in the Niagara Region you can stop by my place for a beer or some BBQ. Don't just show up though, because my schedule is rather sporadic what with all the traveling I have to do back and forth.
All the best...
Mark
Let me apologize up front for the informality of this post, but hey; I figured that we could be a little less formal considering the fact that you technically work for me and I along with many other conservative minded Canadians were instrumental in getting you those cool digs at 24 Sussex. Feel free to call me Mark, all my friends do, and I think this discussion should start off on the right foot if we talk as friends.
First of all, Prime Minister Harper, I do want to offer a sympathetic ear regarding all the issues your government has had to deal with lately. The flood in Calgary, Alberta, and the recent tragedy in Lac Megantic, Quebec, certainly have captured the attention of all Canadians and I do not wish to minimize those issues in any way. So on that, thumbs up. I have some stuff I'd like to say about the Lac Megantic tragedy, but I am going to save that for a later Blog, because what happened there certainly deserves its own place here on the Web.
So Prime Minister Harper, it's no mystery what you've been up to. Heck, you can't turn on the CBC or CTV or pick up a copy of a newspaper to find out what your comings and goings are. Now that Rob Ford has escaped the boney clutches of Left Wing Wacko's appalled that Toronto was capable of emerging from a fiscal year with a surplus. Now that all alleged crack pipe hoopla has settled down, it seems that you have again become the man on the front pages.
With that in mind, I thought I'd update you on my situation here. As you know, the economy hasn't been all that hot. No worries, I don't blame you or your government, rather a bunch of A-Holes on Wall Street and Money Lenders with the fiscal sense of a 12 year old girl let loose in a shopping mall with a Platinum Master Card. So right out the gate, I'm not blaming you or the government, in fact I blame the whole fiasco on Greed. But, while we are talking about the economy I did want to bring up the fact that the region I am from, Ontario Canada, has taken a pretty hard hit in the jobs department.
Did I mention that I drive truck Prime Minister Harper? Oh no? Well, yeah I've been driving truck since 1998 after leaving the Canadian Military for medical reasons. Your predecessors, The Liberal Government, screwed me on my pension and showed me the door, but that's all water under the bridge now. I did what most soldiers do, I soldiered on in the face of adversity. I'm not even going to get into the nitty gritty details about how I sustained three separate leg injuries that resulted in three surgeries and after 12 years of service was given the old "Here's your hat, what's your hurry routine?" Nope, I came out, fought the good fight, and after being beaten down by that Wretched Quasi Judicial Body in Charlottetown PEI that call themselves veteran advocates I soldiered on.
Moving on, and forgetting old wounds and betrayals, I decided to focus on a new career that was effective in taking care of my family. At first I considered jumping feet first into the Tech Sector, but to the chagrin of many, I opted to become a truck driver. Truck Drivers, it seemed at the time, were in high demand and in fact after the Tech Bubble burst I was still driving down the highway taking care of my family. So I think it was a logical decision.
Fast forward to 2011 when the bottom really fell out of the economy here in Ontario. Many small trucking companies, unable to compete with high fuel prices, were gobbled up by larger companies who cut rates and forced many drivers to either work for a lot less or do what I did. What I did in 2012 was head West to the land of Milk and Honey. No, not Israel. Alberta actually, aka: Wild Rose Country, or as many Leftist refer to it: Redneckistan.
Just a point Prime Minister Harper. I appreciate Alberta, appreciate that they pay a decent wage and treat their workers with far more respect than any other Province I have worked in Canada. Now that's just my perspective, I am sure there are others who might disagree. Yet the endless workers from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia and a host of others might just agree with my stance that Alberta, above all others pays it workers fairly.
Part of your governments mantra has been to encourage Canadians who are out of work to pack up and head where the work is. Not an easy task, but many, including myself have taken that advice, but thanks to the economy in our home regions a complete move is not always practical. So what I call these migrant Canadians, borrowing from Mark Knopfler, are Economic Refugees, We leave our home and travel West to work and pay our mortgages and taxes while sacrificing time with family and hoping that someday we can return home for good.
Adapt and overcome, Prime Minister Harper, it's always been my motto, but sometimes you guys up in Ottawa don't make it all that easy. I was going to move to Alberta, but my house isn't riding all that high on the market these days. It''s a great house, nice deck in the back, finished basement, had it built only 8 years ago, but to sell it now and buy a similar place in Alberta would saddle me with an additional $100,000 on a mortgage my wife and I are trying to pay down. So, I guess you can understand that we really don't want to be paying a mortgage when we are in our 70's. So we, like many Canadians decided to become migrant workers. I'm usually gone for six to eight weeks and back for two. This is tough, but we do what we got to do. I know I've somewhat long winded, but I wanted you to know a bit about me so you understand when I offer some criticism. Here's the thing Prime Minister Harper, I spent approximately $5,500.00 on airfare last year and by gosh you know what? I can't claim a dime of that as a work expense on my taxes.
I know, unbelievable eh, but it's true. Why is that Prime Minister Harper? Why is it that Senators and Federal MP's get all sorts of allowances and expenditures including lucrative pension packages as well as travel assistance claims, but a bunch of Canadian Economic Refugees can't claim airfare on their taxes. I understand that MP's and Senators can even claim things like housing.
So that's really the question Prime Minister Harper. Why? Why is it you guys get a lucrative pension package after five years, but veterans have to fight tooth and nail against an untouchable body located Charlottetown PEI. Why is it, that travel expenses to and from Ottawa and around the world for MP's is not considered a perk, but a must and us folks who keep this economy moving and the tax dollars rolling in aren't given the same entitlement.
I think this is a valid question Prime Minister Harper. After all, you are the folks who encouraged us to go where the jobs are and by proxy you are benefiting from the tax dollars we provide to pay your wages as serving Members of Parliament. Perhaps the next time you see Jim, Flaherty not Morrison, you could ask him why this is and while your at it you could mention to him that there is a shelter for any Corporation that flies its employees to and from Alberta, but a lot of us flip the bill. And this isn't just truck drivers, but all workers who pay their own airfare. I mean isn't that a fair expense for staying employed and not drawing Employment Insurance?
So, I'm going to leave it there Prime Minister Harper. Perhaps, if you're in the Niagara Region when I am in the Niagara Region you can stop by my place for a beer or some BBQ. Don't just show up though, because my schedule is rather sporadic what with all the traveling I have to do back and forth.
All the best...
Mark
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