Let me take a few minutes to explain what’s going on with Tim Smith memorable day on January 12th.
Lets go back to the year of 2006 when Tim Smith held the first one.
What was very important is to see which MLA would step forward to acknowledge the issue of VLT and the emotional harm these machines have cause to many families in New Brunswick.
Sadly the answer is - Only two!
Tim believe the MLA’S would at least send a bouquet of flowers in memory of the people who committed suicide in their riding because of their addiction to VLT’S.
We were both surprise that Ed Doherty never showed up or send a bouquet of flowers because Tim work very hard to get him elected in the by-election.
We both have a issue about the VLT with Ed and I will bring it up this week.
Sounds like Ed Doherty refuses to acknowledge Tim Smith on this issue?
We first had our little memorable in the middle of the walkway in front of the Legislature but decided to hold it on the sidewalk near the streets.
There was a reason for all this.
The Liberals while in opposition was stationed in the opposition building.
If Tim Smith was right in front of the Legislature. These MLA’S would have to acknowlegde Tim because they had to walk by him.
Well, I saw a lot of Liberal MLA’S walk by and didn’t even bother to march that extra 50 feet to meet with Tim Smith.
Kelly Lamrock walked by on many occasions but never bothered to pay his respect.
It was disgusting!!!!
There were only two MLA who acknowledge Tim.
Shawn Graham and Abel LeBlanc.
Will Shawn Graham as Premier be there this year?
Lets see?
In my opinion? Every MLA should at least send a bouquet of flowers to the Legislature on January 12th.
The best emotional act last year was when Don Bishop showed up with a bouquet of flowers in memory of his son who comitted suicide a few years back.
I might add the media was great to spread the message among New Brunswickers.
This memorable will continue as long Tim Smith or myself are around.
Lets see what’s going to happen this year?
One thing is certain!!!!
I’ll be right there with my eyes and camera. I will let the readers know which MLA cared and which didn’t give a darn!!!!
33 comments:
Looking forward to your post on this protest. I have a friend who's been hooked on these machines for 10 years and blows just about every paycheck he's ever had, and he's about to lose his relationship over them. I also had a problem with them at one time but managed to get myself clean, once they pulled the machines out of corner stores.
I know of bars who don't sell enough drinks to stay in business, but they depend on the revenue of the VLT's who are mainly used by the poor and disadvantaged. I've watched as people slip in $20 after $20 until it's gone. Then what do they tell their wives/husbands? What about their kid that they promised to take to McDonalds?
I'd love to see Shawn Graham apologize to the people of New Brunswick on behalf of the previous governments who profited from these machines, and then burn every VLT in the province. Businesses will scream about it but it was their choice to take advantage of the poor and vulnerable citizens of New Brunswick.
Good morning Charles,
I have to admit that I have left some negative comments in the past concerning your blogs that I didn't agree with and the techniques you used. But this blog is a real good one, good job in writting this unbiast blog.
I will be looking forward into seeing what happens on January 12.
He would probably be better off having the protest on a day that the house is in session. That way, all of the MLAs are there, as well as the media
The sad fact is that everyone seems to cry they will lose their business or suffer great losses but in true fact the only loser in this will indeed be the Government of New Brunswick because just like the individuals who have dove too far in to get out,
The government has done this same thing BUT the only difference between them and the little guy is they're the only winners even when they lose a little.
You don't see any bureaucrats or mlas out there losing their minds or challenging their sanity from this disease.
Seadog: We may as well ban alcohol, cigarettes and the Atlantic Lottery Corporation too if we were to burn every VLT machine in the province. What ever happened to personal responsibility?
The fact is, no VLT machine ever killed anyone. Alcohol and cigarettes certainly have killed people. If a person commits suicide, it is a result of a mental disorder, plain and simple.
To the comment above, you seem to be missing the key ingredient here.
It is a sophisticated psychological weakness set up by yours truly "The Government of New Brunswick"
((The protectors of your rights to move about freely within your communities without fear of deliberate falsities of profit for personal gain on the backs of those very citizens in which they are there to protect from such setups by private business or scam artists that involve profits through death))
(Breaking and or loop holing all possible scenarios of law to gain revenue at the communities expense by not only setting up a criminal act of exploiting but to do it all throughout those said communities.
To rake in as much revenue as possible on the back of the working poor throughout each and every community within this province.
The last three years running has brought in nearly half a BILLION dollars--2004-142 million dollars
2005-124 million dollars
2006-135 million dollars
------------------------
401 million dollars
Not bad for an addiction in which your governing body has the public at large believing this only effects a small percentage of people in a province of less than 3¼ million for a population.
So if anyone out there can readily accept this as an explanation for the largest pots of cash ever brought in by the government of New Brunswick in it's history then I'm sure they have a few other "sound good deals" they can offer to those individuals as well.
I strongly believe it is time we ask our local municipalities why we can't hold separate referendums to see whether each City in the Province of New Brunswick thinks this is as great a thing as this province itself does.
I'd be willing to say that could most definitely spell the end of VLTs as we know them in the Cities of Fredericton and Saint John as well as Moncton.
It is time to either put these death machines in one location with responsible regulations and strict rules with proper guidelines or hold City referendums to determine their future within this province as there is more than enough profits to do such a thing in a very short time and this Government knows that to be very true.
I agree with the poster above Charles, Good job!
You obviously care very deeply about vlts in this province just by looking over the neverending write ups and ways of seeing its effects on those who have fallin victim to them not to mention the non-stop addictive upgrades to them by your government.
Now that is a hard act to follow.
A big Thank you goes out to you and Tim Smith on this issue.
Tim, as usual, just like your sidekick, you ignore the question posed to you. I'll ask again, more bluntly, why beg for VLTs to be banned while alcohol and tobacco physically kill people and injure thousands more and bring in more taxdollars? Are you that nearsighted?
No not at all, If you go back in the archives you will see that I have answered that question on more than one occassion and in detail but the short of it is tobacco & alcohol are ONLY managed and taxed to death and are in a specific place with specific hours and in most NOT all places there are times like holidays etc...That you can't get them but the real delema here with VLTs is they are SOLELY OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW BRUNSWICK and are spread throughout your communities for pure profit with NOT ONE COPPER PENNY of that revenue which is the single highest incoming revenue in history going back to your communities and if you do not believe that just ask any of the Mayors of New Brunswick Cities they are MORE than willing to answer that question.
I will be talking about this in the near future in Fredericton.
Thank you for the question but as I've said just go back in the archives for more...Timothy Smith
I believe that I have to put my 5 cents worth.
No one is suggesting they should ban the VLT’S!
I have been fighting this issue all the way from the Frank McKenna years.
My only suggestion would be to shut down the machines on Sunday’s only.
This would give the people who plays these machines a chance to give up their awful habit.
Alcohol and tobacco are equally as available as VLTs - nearly 24/7/365. Specific places and times? No, not really considering there are tobacco vending machines and agency stores. Atlantic Lottery Corporation is available 24/7 online allowing purchase of lottery tickets and other gambling at any time. Cigarettes and lottery tickets are available at Sobeys except for 19 hrs on Sunday which makes them more accessible than VLTs which are in businesses with shorter hours. Now, I ask again, why are you fixated on one and not the other? You sound like a hypocrite for that stance. If VLTs were available to the public at a fixed number of locations for a fixed number of hours per day, would you be totally in favour of that? No, you wouldn't - you want them banned completely. Explain that contradiction.
The revenue from VLTs go into the government coffers to fund a myriad of things - just like the taxes on alcohol and tobacco and non-vice products. I fail to see where the problem is with that.
Where does personal responsibility come into play? In your world, it doesn't, does it? Do you think that the majority of the population should be treated like the small minority who can't control themselves? What makes their rights more important than the others? Yes, it is a small percent of the population who are affected. That's fact, not spin.
You want to talk dollar figures? Bring it on. Go read the financial figures for ALC again http://www.alc.ca/English/AboutALC/AnnualReport/Images/ALCAnnualReport2005-06.pdf
Read it, don't just extract a number out of context and try to brainwash people into what it means.
$135 million from vlt less expenses = $82 million (rounded) in profit.
Now for NBLiquor
http://www.nbliquor.com/documents/2006-Annual-Report.pdf
To the Government of NB, they gave
$125 million
To the Government of Canada, they gave
$42 million
So, you still think that the province getting $82 million from VLTs is evil and should be banned but getting $125 million from booze is completely okay?
Charles,
This shows that our tax dollars are at a true waste. Did they use the trip up as a travel expense to the taxpayers? If so then there should be an audit into shawn graham and abel leblanc.
That last comment truly shows the true mentality of some people in this blog.
The reality is that all of these are extremely important issues, but alcohol and cigarettes are each different, it's silly to call them 'the same'.
It's a FAR FAR different thing for governments to hold out to desperate people the 'hope' of a better life (just watch the commercials). Notice that beer commercials can't even show people drinking beer, and cigarettes aren't even allowed to be advertised virtually anywhere.
Also, there is considerable evidence that VLT's are DESIGNED to be addictive, just like cigarettes were, and this is something that tobacco companies are being sued for. So in this case its the case where government is 'liable' for harm, but have you ever tried suing the government?
There is a reason why for decades gambling was fought tooth and nail. Keep in mind that almost half of all New Brunswickers who voted said that ALL VLT's should be completely unavailable (so locking them one day a week certainly wouldn't shed too many tears).
Keep in mind that it was a blatantly illegal referendum as Lord refused to enact the referendum spending laws, and so the 'pro' VLT side had massive spending powers, while the other side had only church meetings and a few letters to the editor.
Keep in mind also that a public relations company in Saint John until recently featured on their website the claim that it was their services that brought the win. In most polls NB'ers were much the same as in Maine, where they have rejected VLT's in many referenda by a 65-35% margin.
Gambling is supposed to be a mechanism to bring in money, such as in Las Vegas. It isn't supposed to be an income redistribution mechanism. In most european countries people are not allowed in casino's within an hours drive of their residence. Not having a casino at all makes NB one of the few areas where it quite clearly is a tool to suck money from desparate people. It's always ironic that the Bible has plenty to say about gambling, yet the bible thumpers seem more concerned about gay people marrying or people not saying 'merry christmas'.
So comparing this to alcohol and cigarettes, which are chemical stimulants, and VLT's, which are quite literally government sponsored highwaymen is not feasible.
Keep in mind also, I don't know if it was in NB media, but in Nova Scotia there was a woman who was committing crimes in order to be arrested so she could go to jail to get away from VLT's. She had a long and sordid history and had some clear criticisms about the so-called 'treatment programs'.
Put all those together and hopefully people can see that this is NOT the same as alcohol and tobacco. Hopefully it will get the same attention soon.
But I agree that Tim should postpone his trip or else do it again when MLA's are actually there. If they aren't there it kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?
The reason the date is January 12th is because Tim Smith landed in the Capital on a very cold day on Janiuary 12th, 2005.
It was -40 wind chills and I was certain he was going to die because no one from the Bernard Lord Government came out to chat with him.
I was even told by Dan Bussieres to leave Tim alone so he would think by himself and go home.
Well, I refuse to leave the guy alone and kept a close eye on the situation.
This was all before blogging began and I was sending daily updates to all the politicians that this guy is serious and something must be done.
I suggested to Tim one year later that he should mark January 12th as a day to remember the people who killed themselves because of these machines.
He quickly jumped on the idea and the rest is history.
As long as Tim or I are around in this in this world? January 12th will be a day to mourn the people and for the family members to mourned their love ones.
The MLA’S don’t have to be sitting in the House. They can do their part in sending flowers.
How many will?
Stay tuned!!!
Flowers???
10:43pm: You really need to do some reading on the definition of gambling addiction. It IS considered in the same category as alcohol and nicotine for their psychiatric effects on the brain - the same chemicals are released. It is a recognized mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association.
This is from one site:
Recently scientists have classified gambling addiction as a neurobiological disorder, a chemical dependency of the brain similar to those addicted to drugs such as cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, and alcohol (alcohol is considered a drug). According to these scientists, gambling is a drug because its psychoactive effects are similar to tangible drugs. For example, under an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan, the affected areas of the brain of a gambling addict are the same as those of a cocaine addict.
Shutting down VLT access one day a week would do nothing. Gambling addicts would find other outlets for their addiction. As I said before, lottery tickets are available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, regardless of holidays - at grocery stores and gas stations.
Are we a society that needs to treat the whole as though we are all addicts? If 99 people have no problem gambling and 1 person does, should those 99 people be treated like that 1 person?
Personally, I support anything the government can do to increase their tax revenue on luxury items - those being alcohol, tobacco and lottery.
A Nony Mouse said "The fact is, no VLT machine ever killed anyone. Alcohol and cigarettes certainly have killed people. If a person commits suicide, it is a result of a mental disorder, plain and simple."
Sorry, that's not true. It has been proven that there is a link between VLTs and depression, and depression and suicide. I live in Nova Scotia. A good friend of mine became addicted to VLTs. He went from playing solitare on his PC at breaktime at work, to going to the casino, and after he was banned from there, he started going to bars to play. When the bars closed, he'd go home and play online. He went into his own little world. He became severely depressed in a matter of months. He lost his job, his wife, his family, he just became homeless this October. Yet he could still find money to play the machines. He committed suicide before Christmas. So before you say VLTs don't kill, think again, they do. They are addictive, which causes depression. Talk to mental health professionals who TREAT these people on a regular basis, don't shoot off definitions from a dictionary because that does not pay any respect to those who are in trouble with these things.
You seem to imply that it's only the weak who become addicted. Perhaps there is a *bit* of truth in that, but the problem is here, and it's supported by the government, and it's killing people, and THAT is the bottom line. It doesn't matter if you think addicts are weak, it matters that the gov't is reaping profit from these addictions.
A Nony Mouse also said "Shutting down VLT access one day a week would do nothing." Well the gov't here did shut a bunch of them down and they limited the hours they can operate, and there WAS an impact on government gambling revenues. So, obviously, people are gambling less.
A Nony Mouse also said "Personally, I support anything the government can do to increase their tax revenue on luxury items - those being alcohol, tobacco and lottery."
So, if they lowered the drinking age to allow the sale of alcohol to pre-teens, that would be OK? If they allowed tobacco companies to market to teenage girls, with some pretty pink glittery cigarette packs, that would be OK? If they created breakaway tickets especially for teenage boys, that would be OK? Maybe they could even have Pee Wee hockey league logos on them. How about if they created VLTs especially for kids, and put them in the schools so the kids can play them during recess and at lunch time.
Hey, you're the one who said "anything". All of these things would create additional government revenue, and who better to target than those with the most disposable income, right?
I only hope your name hasn't been on a ballot.
We aren't talking about addictions. Obviously addictions are very different in every person and every issue, gambling does not require an external chemical stimulant. Just because the lights stimulate part of the brain means nothing, you might as well start talking about shutting off store sign lights because it may affect people's brains. Eating sugar and fat has the same effect on the brain as opiates, so what? Are we going to talk about making sugar and fat illegal? Of course not, the point is it's not the same thing.
This IS NOT just about 'addiction'. THis is about government fostering bad behaviour that have proven unpleasant social costs. This is about inadequate treatment and the reality that almost half of NBers want them COMPLETELY illegal.
If it were just about addiction then the claim is still valid because as has been noted, support programs for these people are a joke, if not non-existent. If you are a smoker there are nicotine patches, if you are an alcoholic there is AA and many massive regulations and funding for their ill effects.
To follow the reasoning above, if all those effects of VLT's are true (and that's certainly not proven), then it becomes MORE important not less. Meaning, if it is stimulating the brain like a drug, then why isn't MADD out there picketing and protesting letting these people drive 'on drugs'?
But it certainly isn't just addiction, and I'm at the opposite spectrum and I think the Atlantic Lottery Corporation is a government bureaucracy gone haywire. Betting is not a bad thing in itself, people have been racing on horses forever. But they are literally being used now as a means to get more money from poor desperate people to governments (and itself).
And most of these people are poor because of government initiatives (or lack of them). Even the UN has chided Canada on the fact only 40% of unemployed people even qualify for EI, like gambling EI has become a massive government addiction-yet another 'hidden tax' whose benefit is supposed to go to Canadians, not them.
It's quite absurd to see tobacco, alcohol and VLT's called 'luxuries'. How many of the wealthiest people sit around and talk about their 'wealth' in terms of how much booze and smokes they have. We KNOW that tobacco was intentionally made more addictive than heroin, smokers are addicts, plain and simple. That's hardly 'luxury'.
Keep in mind that alcoholics can also find booze, or make it themselves, that doesn't mean you alter NB Liquor regulations (which are quite strict). So the idea that 'just because an addict can go elsewhere means there is no point in regulating them' is false. Buying a lottery ticket doesn't stimulate any part of the brain and its doubtful those who like the flashing lights will get any similar thrill froming 'scratching'.
But of course if people don't give a rat's ass about anybody else then they won't support it. One would expect that in a supposed democracy people would at least give credence to issues that have almost half of voters wanting banned completely, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
As for Tim, I'm a big supporter but even I think its silly to have such a demonstration in front of the Legislature when there is nobody in it. Sending flowers is just silly, and does nothing about the issue (and is also paid for by taxpayers).
If its an anniversary, "landing in the capital" seems an odd idea for an anniversary, couldn't that be anyday? There may be more to it from Tim, but at least make it on an anniversary of a suicide, or a date when a particularly bad piece of legislation went through.
But most people don't know about this, and even if it got coverage a politician would simply say "I wasn't in town". Very few people, and certainly no reporters, are going to say "why didn't you send flowers to the protestor?"
Political protesting in the freezing cold when nobody is around seems a little silly, I"m sorry to say. A month later the house will be sitting and there will be huge possibilities for government interaction, and it will at least be a story about how many don't bother to come and see Tim. Now, its hardly even a story. Poor Tim will be standing freezing in the cold where nobody is present, he might as well stay in Saint John and stand with his sign.
In fact, Graham may well have postponed the House sitting until February just so they can avoid "the first guaranteed protest". Its not a good sign for a new government, and this works to their advantage. But the "what if I had a protest and nobody came" scheme seems misguided and hopefully Tim will reconsider, or else duplicate the protest once the house is sitting. Keep in mind this is from somebody who fully supports the protest too!
Hi Charlie: it's great to see there is a little commenting going on this year and from what I'm reading it seems pretty even and healthy which is good but I know Tim and I just want to ask a couple of comments above how you can time a date for a memorial?
I asked why he does this on the 12 of January and he told me because that was the day he stood up and tried to do something to escape from vlts and for those who died from that addiction.
He didn't know at that time how any of those things work or even if anybody was there in the winter months but all he knew is he had to do something, anything at the time.
Which makes sense to me because I was curious myself why he would go do that on such a cold day in the middle of winter
He said you don't time your suicide that's why people are so successful at doing it nobody sees it coming and also that winter is a lonely empty cold time of the year which matches how you feel on the inside when your suffering a powerful addiction you are unable to escape.
I wish him luck on this issue being that I too have a few friends I worry about a lot with those things.
Looking back in your history I see You have done some great work on this issue in the past with Tim so I hope you and Tim don't get discouraged by the neigh Sayers. I'm sure you know as well as I that your fighting a government over millions or should I say Billions of dollars over time of which they have said very clearly they need every penny.
Keep up the fight.
10:04am: After quoting me "If a person commits suicide, it is a result of a mental disorder, plain and simple.", you immediately contradict yourself.
Sorry, that's not true. It has been proven that there is a link between VLTs and depression, and depression and suicide.
Yes, depression is a mental disorder.
Ir your argument is:
If X causes Y and Y causes Z, then we had better ban X to stop Z.
That's silly since Y is directly causing Z, not X.
That would be like saying
Cars cause drunk driving and drunk driving causes death, then we had better ban cars to stop death.
Guns cause shootings and shootings cause deaths, then we had better ban guns to stop death.
The weakest argument of all of those things is for VLTs causing suicides.
Right, a lottery ticket likely wouldn't trigger the same stimulation to an addict's brain but scratch and win tickets certainly could.
Yes, I would like to see the government increase taxes on luxury items to increase their tax revenue. Yes, that would target people with the most disposable income. Do you think that money grows on trees? The government couldn't run without taxes, so I'd much rather see taxes increased on those items (alcohol, tobacco, lottery) than face another tax increase on essentials such as milk, gas, property taxes, etc.
If 1 person wants to gamble away $99 and 99 other people each save $1 in taxes on gas, then yes, I support it.
For cigarettes, if the government could raise the taxes to let's say double the prize of a pack of cigarettes, they'd accomplish a few things. Some people would actually quit - which would be great since health care costs would decrease and for the people still smoking, the government would get more tax revenue to fund health care. Morbid? Yes, but it all goes back to personal choice and responsibility. Nobody was ever tied down and forced to start smoking. Applying the same increased taxation on alcohol would encounter a huge public outcry and too many private businesses rely on liquor sales so doubling liquor taxes will never happen.
In case you hadn't noticed. Liquor companies already sponsor youth hockey. Look at the boards in the hockey rinks. I don't have a problem with that either. What I do have a problem with is people who expect an entire city to pay for a few hundred kids to play hockey by taxing everyone. I want to see a user-pay system for residents and non-residents.
In fact, Graham may well have postponed the House sitting until February just so they can avoid "the first guaranteed protest".
Hahaha. Oh that's a funny one. Delusions of grandeur. You guys are hilarious.
Bingo: "THis is about government fostering bad behaviour that have proven unpleasant social costs."
Right on the mark. They foster bad behaviour, gain revenue from it, then based on public outcry, have to fund social programs in order to "cure" people of their addictions.
Only it does not really pay the government to "cure" people of their addictions, now does it?
It is why I think it is so absurd that gov't has the right to sue big tobacco because smoking causes lung cancer.
It's absurd because the gov't had it in their capacity all along to do their own research studies. In fact, it was negligent for them to NOT do them and allow the sale of tobacco.
Fast forward today.
Isn't it just plain negligence that the gov't allows VLTs in the numbers they are available when they KNOW that there are multiple studies of the effects of these machines??
Just an interesting link between mood disorders and gambling:
http://mooddisorderscanada.ca/findinghelp/gambling/report/suicide.htm
The statistics are startling.
The federal and provincial governments allow the sale of a multitude of harmful and potentially harmful products.
Guns
Prescription medication
OTC medication
Liquor
Tobacco
Lottery tickets
Pornography
Strip bars
and more.
Where should the line be drawn? Who should decide what I am allowed and not allowed to do? Are your rights more important than mine or vice versa? Throughout the history of mankind, some people with self-destructive tendencies and some will hurt others. That's human nature. Should the whole of society be treated using the lowest common denominators? Should the government assume we are all drug addicted, alcoholic gambling criminals?
Now, for a moment, think about the public's reaction if the government one day decided to outlaw alcohol, tobacco and gambling. Alcohol prohibition was attempted in the past and it didn't work. It went underground, increased crime and was a nightmare for law enforcement.
Do you want an Orwellian society?
You'll have to prove that, I've never seen a youth hockey rink with an ad for alcohol on the boards. Please send that picture to charles, because if true, we've got another issue to blog. I've never seen it and don't believe it.
Again, the poster above misses the point. It is NOT about gambling, although it could be. VLT's are NOT the same as scratch and win tickets. Many people don't know this but the ALC can actually control from Moncton the amount that the machines pay out.
The same is true of scratch and win contests, but once again you rarely see people sitting at a counter plugging dollars into the cards. The 'addiction' there is not the 'machine' , it is simply the pathetic lives that people want escape from-either having no money or a lousy job. But that's a separate issue.
The logic above is unsound because nobody says "cars cause drunk driving". The logic is so far off the mark that a decent analogy can't even be conjured up. However, ALCOHOL causes drunk driving, which causes death due to impaired driving. Remove the alcohol and yes, you do remove the X from the equation.
However, Tim hasn't even been saying to ban lottery terminals, although he could. He's being pretty moderate in saying that he wants them just closed on the sabbath, which is a pretty small concession. I think people who wouldn't even grant that are being remarkably petty, as said, gamblers still have other options.
As for money, Canada is far richer than it has ever been. The richest people in Canada have so much money they don't know what to do with it. For money, thats once again a political problem as this is a province that sees more value in keeping two or three families rich than in sharing the wealth. Just the tax break for Irvings gas terminal would have put hundreds of millions into the government, and that doesn't even include how much is going to forestry companies who will eventually leave anyway. So there is TONS of money, it seems odd to say that the government NEEDS to get more tax dollars from the poorest people, even while it gives multibillion dollar handouts to the wealthiest. It seems basic economics that if you need money, you tax the people who have all kinds, not those with hardly any-especially when the result is that society becomes all the worse off for it.
I've had numerous tourists talk about how bleak New Brunswick is. They ask what those people are doing in the bars and adapted convenience stores. It's a depressing sight and its no surprise that the majority of provinces in the country don't allow it, while many places are outright banning them. That should be a clue, but when you have one media company that virtually never reports on how the rest of the world functions its no surprise that people don't think of these things.
The easiest thing to do of course is to simply have a referendum.
Why are most of the negative comments missing the main point here?
The Government does NOT own the tobacco companies nor the brewer retailers they ONLY TAX them to death but the DO own the deadly vlt machines, Lock Stock & Barrel (Your Government)to the death.
Not Private Interests who by the way would have to follow strict rules and regulations
Also cigarettes are sold in a store behind a counter
Liquor is sold at a liquor store
VLTs are rampid throughout this province everywhere and anywhere that wants to apply for a piece of paper that says they now sell beer.
Then with a few word of mouth instructions on where they should be located within your establishment which is nowhere near being followed up.
I don't believe the issue is to ban them although just about everyone you talk to says to just get rid of the monstrosities and be done with it.
Also cigarettes are sold in a store behind a counter
Liquor is sold at a liquor store
Liquor is not exclusively sold in liquor stores. It is sold in most restaurants, bars, pool halls and even the bowling alleys.
Cigarettes are not exclusively sold in stores. There are vending machines - unless in the last few years those have been removed. I don't smoke so I haven't looked for them lately.
Increasing taxes on big business is your answer? Do you forget who big business hires? If a company is taxed to the hilt, they'll increase their product prices to compensate or they can get annoyed and move. Who is that going to hurt? Everyone. Government and the people who were employed there and smaller businesses who were making money from those employees. It's a trickle-down theory.
Liquor sponsors for youth hockey - here you go. http://www.harbourstation.nb.ca/images/view/L.jpg
Most of the Sea Dogs players are minors. Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Labatt and Alpine are team sponsors.
Wow, dude, you really have to brush up,'trickle down' theories were proven not to work fifty years ago! Corporations contribute a mere 3% of the New Brunswick's governments budget. Where exactly is Irving going to go? Their land is here, their forests are here, their mills are here, their stores are here. Their resources are here so if they 'leave' they have bubkus.
The largest corporations in the country pay no tax whatsoever, yet still have been laying off people. The more tax breaks Irving gets, the more they lay people off. According to Irvings own papers their natural gas terminal will only employ EIGHT people. Gee, hundreds of millions for eight jobs? Do the math.
Likewise, Irving invests very little of their new capital in NB anyway, so the more they save in tax it certainly doesn't stay in the province. In Waterloo the owners of Research in Motion have put hundreds of millions into research institutes and development centers, Irving gives a few million to the school of journalism.
Actually Irving invested more of their money in the seventies in the province when they paid more taxes, leading KC to move offshore. So he did 'leave', but all of his interests keep making them money-but because they are offshore they don't have to pay taxes on them. Thats a cushy deal, so clearly getting them to 'leave' altogether would benefit the province more. Nova Scotia and even PEI are doing far better than NB economically where Irvings interests are smaller.
In fact, according to the last study, New Brunswick only has SIX publicly traded corporations. So clearly having corporations leave is not an issue.
So it seems you forget who SMALL business hires, and they hire FAR more. The Habitant Restaurant in Richibucto has more permanent jobs than the gas terminal will have, even while Irvings make billions off it.
And Harbour station is a professional hockey arena, not an amateur one.
Where did I say Irving? I didn't. I said big business. Do you really need me to point out other examples of large companies in the province?
I guess you really don't understand the basic workings of an economy. If I own a large business, employing 1000 people, even if I only paid 3% in direct taxes to the government, the government is getting MUCH more in taxes because of me. Those 1000 people who I employ get paycheques with disposable income, they buy houses and cars, buy gas, they buy from other businesses and pay taxes too. If those 1000 people were unemployed, they wouldn't be paying all of those taxes and the government would be "paying" them welfare. Understand now?
If you had read the entire thread, I mentioned YOUTH hockey. The majority of players on the Sea Dogs team are YOUTH.
In New Brunswick 'big business' is Irving, I don't know where you are, but in NB you don't get bigger than Irving.
Corporations paid far more in taxes fifteen years ago and they existed just fine, in fact in the fifties the split between corporations and individuals in budgets was 50-50. So to say they will go out of business is absurd. Irvings make MASSIVE profits from their oil refinery. There has never been an oil refinery that 'went out of business'. A tax on profits from oil revenues would be 1 cent per litre, instead, we see Irvings golden boy in Fredericton lessening the tax on gas.
If the above post were true, then why have corporations or businesses pay tax at all? That's ludicrous because it assumes that a large corporation is doing a service that won't otherwise be provided, which isn't true at all. In New Brunswick we'd be better off if government ran the forestry industry-it would be done far better and more sustainably.
In fact, forget nuclear power, New Brunswick would be far smarter to beat Irving to the punch and build its own refinery. New Brunswickers would be filthy rich! Ever been to Saudi Arabia or Norway? These are people who know far more about economics than you do (unless your Jeffrey Sachs, which I doubt).
And most of the Seadogs are 19, the legal drinking age.
Yes Saint John and the Province would be better off managing our own trees and resources instead of giving it to Irving. Right now we allow one Empire to run and receive all the profits and over tax the people.
VLT's need to be contolled and put in buildings that make it harder for people to take their earnings and all the money that is intended to feed their children and families. After these addicts blow all their money someone has to care for their families or they will do desperate things.
Addicts need help and our government knows this, our government are like addicts too. They like receiving peoples hard earned cash and they are not taxed on it. The money should be used to pay our debt off but that has not happened. The lottery is the same; our bills could be paid off and our taxes could be lessen.
But instead their are more CEO jobs and the wealthy get richer and average people are losing ground like the poor who can't make it.
The more people see through this crapp the better chances we have of demanding changes from those in control. "Respect" for all people not just those who profit from people who have problems and addictions.
Corner stores in back rooms do not help addicts.
Our government believes they are helping people but truly they are not. We see through that and their actions will have to change now. People no longer have any "faith" because the "hope" is gone for many. Do the right thing stop talking about it; correct now.
Put the machines where the wealthy go and take our money back.
Without the VLT'S you might not be getting a monthly New Brunswick Welfare Cheque Charlie, did you ever think of that ?
You have a sick brain who ever you are. Charles has nothing to do with how some people get a cheque.
Get a life find a new site. Always making off the wall remarks; a waste of words.
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