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Guest Speaker: Derek Fildebrandt of Canadian Taxpayers Federation
Guest speaker Derek Fildebrandt started his presentation by providing members with some history and background on the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and what they do.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is a federally incorporated, not-for-profit citizen's group dedicated to lower taxes, less waste and accountable government. The CTF was founded in Saskatchewan in 1990 when the Association of Saskatchewan Taxpayers and the Resolution One Association of Alberta joined forces to create a national taxpayers organization. Today, the CTF has over 70,000 supporters nation-wide.
The CTF maintains a federal office in Ottawa and regional offices in British Columbia, Alberta, Prairie (SK and MB), Ontario and Atlantic. Regional offices conduct research and advocacy activities specific to their provinces in addition to acting as regional organizers of Canada-wide initiatives.
CTF offices field hundreds of media interviews each month, hold press conferences and issue regular news releases, commentaries and publications to advocate the common interest of taxpayers. CTF representatives speak at functions, make presentations to government, meet with politicians, and organize petition drives, events and campaigns to mobilize citizens to effect public policy change. Each week CTF offices send out Let's Talk Taxes commentaries to more than 800 media outlets and personalities nationally.
All CTF staff and board directors are prohibited from holding a membership in any political party. The CTF is independent of any institutional or partisan affiliations. Donations to the CTF are not deductible as a charitable contribution.
During the "Doom and Gloom" portion of his presentation Derek spoke to members about the National Debt. He provided facts and a brief history of the debt and also talked about the Canadian Taxpayers Federation's Debt Clock project.
Canada's federal debt grew steadily between 5% and 10% per year until 1975 when it began to explode; growing for the next 12 years at more than 20% per year. It broke the $100-billion mark in 1981 and the $200-billion mark in 1985. While the growth slowed in 1988, our federal debt continued to climb, breaking $300-billion in 1988, $400-billion 1992, and $500-billion in 1994. It peaked in 1997 at $563-billion.
Over the past decade it had slowly declined to $458-billion in 2008. Now this has all changed. Our federal debt grew by $5.8-billion in 2008-09, by $55.4-billion in 2009-10 and is projected to have grown by $40.5-billion in 2010-11. While the 2011 Budget has yet to pass, it's expected to grow by $29.6-billion in 2011-12. Further, it's expected to grow through at least 2014-15. In just three years all the debt repayment of the past eight years will be wiped out. Canada's debt re-passed the $500-billion mark at 4:55:46 AM on December 2, 2009.
In 1993, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation commissioned the construction of a giant debt clock - 12 feet long by 5-and-a-half feet high - with changeable faceplates for the federal and each provincial government. The clock displayed the per-second increase in debt along with the share for each Canadian family.
The clock was toured around the country and made headlines everywhere it went. The clock went into temporary retirement once the federal government balanced the budget in 1997 and began paying down the federal debt.
In 2011, they pulled the old debt clock out of retirement and toured it around the country once again, warning of the size and growth of the federal debt once again. You can get details on the tour at www.debtclocktour.ca.
If you would like to know more about the Canadian Taxpayers Federation visit their website at www.taxpayer.com. Any Canadian taxpayer committed to the CTF's mission is welcome to join at no cost and receive issue and Action Updates. Financial supporters can additionally receive the CTF's flagship publication The Taxpayer magazine published four times a year. To join the Taxpayers Federation or to become a supporter contact Derek Fildebrandt
at 1-800-265-0442 or Steve Legere at 1-877-866-1313.
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