A Lot Of IFs Royson

And even if Harper has a change of heart and if John Tory can find some loose change in the provincial budget the taxpayer, in Toronto, Mississauga, Fort William, etc. will not see a drop in their property taxes and a reduction in the amount their municipalities owe. Pecaut and his band of soldiers don't seem to recognize the simple fact that only one taxpayer is kicking $$$$ into the municipal, provincial and federal coffers.

Coming soon: Duelling for dollars
Royson James

David Pecaut is rallying his unlikely band of soldiers one more time to engage in the fiscal battle of our time. The mission is to wrest a significant amount of cash from the federal and provincial government, enough to sustain a healthy Toronto.

Armies clash and fight over real estate, one ceding to the other after bloody engagement. The real estate Pecaut is after is the same one Mayor David Miller has identified and circled on the map showing the country's tax landscape.

Both want the federal and provincial governments to leave a tiny amount of revenue room for cities. A simple formula would see cities get a 1 per cent share of the provincial sales tax and/or federal GST.

As expected, neither Ottawa nor Ontario is willing to yield this fiscal territory without a fight. How much of a fight they get in this renewal of political hostilities may be determined Feb. 26 and 27 in Toronto, when many of the city's and country's movers and shakers convene at the next city summit.

Pecaut, who has an extraordinary touch in tapping and enlisting soldiers of every class and station, has called on Toronto's top bankers, business people, politicians, social activists, educators and urbanists – the people who comprise what we loosely call civil society – to convene again to contemplate the state of the city of Toronto.

Premier Dalton McGuinty will be there. Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is invited.

Ifthey want to get more out out of my pocket they will have to get your thumbs amputated......