After reading some negative comments on facebook, I thought I would write an article about the Cariboo Regional District’s airport tax referendum.
Life is strange, we support many things: for instance cancer fundraisers, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Salvation Army, to name a few. Yet for some reason we put the Quesnel Airport in a different category. Of course, though it is not charity, it is a necessity, because every person, whether in the city or in the Regional District, needs an airport we can rely on! The rural people, in my opinion, should be contributing!
Why? Many use it for travel, but what about those that need it for other reasons? Do you know anyone that has had to be transported out on a medevac, or attend a medical appointment?
How many realize we pay for G.R. Baker Hospital through taxation (the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District)? Would you say ‘Why should I pay?’
What about the recreation facilities we have – the library, etc. – same thing: ‘I don’t use them, why should I pay?’ Some things we pay for are for enjoyment and entertainment, others are necessary. Yet we think nothing of spending money on a Timmy’s coffee or any fast food outlet! That is certainly not a necessity; it sure is a luxury though.
Please tell me, can you remember how we got the cat scan machine in Quesnel? Well, many of us worked weekends and evenings to raise the money. Our chair was Ron Silver, I was one of the committee, and there were many of us! (But damn, I heard the comment many times – ‘We don’t want to pay for it.’) I wonder if those same people would say that today! But thanks to the work of the committee, Northern Health and the Cariboo Chilcotin Regional Hospital District, we did it and with a parcel tax for only two years! Oh, my good grief, the outcry, how we didn’t need this tax! I will never forget it.
Sure, you can vote no against the airport tax – but why? I have heard, ‘Oh the city just wants our money.’ Really? The airport is not just for the city, it is for all. Consider giving up that coffee, the proposed tax is only $3.65 per $100,000. Would you have to give it up three or more times during the year? Think of all the reasons it matters. Many thought they didn’t want or need the cat scan machine, but can we live without it? Of course not.
Over the years I have worked on so many projects to make Quesnel a better place to live and work, that I personally did not need or use, but they were important to this community. We contribute and pay for community associations, etc. They give us a purpose and enjoyment. Others are of a necessity, like the airport. Then somehow we question why we should pay. Perhaps we don’t see the tangible benefit?
Ask yourself, just because I don’t use it, is that a good enough reason to vote no? Well, I don’t think it is. But the choice is yours, of course. I will be voting YES!
Mary Glassford
Quesnel, B.C.