Race and taxes

Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty says that much of the tax money the province should be collecting, but isn’t, relates to illegal tobacco. Half of all cigarettes currently purchased in the province, he says, are illegal.

This can happen, of course, because the Indians (aboriginals, First Nations, choose your term) do not have to pay taxes. They sell tobacco to everyone else for more than they pay, but considerably less than the products cost with tax.

My problem with this goes beyond the $500 million that the province is currently short, although that is certainly serious in this economy.

My family has lived in this country since they came from the United States in 1775. They arrived in North America on the Mayflower. Yet I do not have, nor would I expect, any more rights than a Canadian who gained citizenship last year.

Indians in Canada do not pay taxes, yet they expect the privileges that our taxes pay for: roads, schools, health care, emergency services, etc. In fact, they receive more than most of us. If I live in a bad house or community, no one steps in to move me or build me a new home: I am expected to do these things for myself.

And these rules are based purely on race, something we claim to despise in this country. If you are Indian or Inuit, no taxes.

My mother told me a story a while ago that had me shaking my head. She was in a convenience store behind two little girls, about six years old. One was white, and one was Indian, and they were obviously best friends. They picked out identical chocolate bars, and the little white girl paid first. Then the Indian girl paid, and was charged less (no tax). Her friend turned to her, and asked “How come you don’t have to pay as much as I do?” The other 6-year-old shrugged and said “Because I’m Indian”. Not satisfied, the child repeated her question to the store owner, and got the same answer: “Because she’s Indian”. It is easy enough to see how prejudice starts.

The whole situation abounds with racism: I did not steal Indian land. I wasn’t there, and neither was anyone else alive today. Blaming the white people of today for the actions of people with the same skin colour hundreds of years ago is just as bad as attacking all members of any other group for the actions of a few.

The other complaint I hear is that the Indians and Inuit of today aren’t able to live like their ancestors. Well you know what? Neither is anybody else. It is 2008, and the world has changed rather dramatically in the last few hundred years. Everyone else has had to deal with it. They have to, too.

So what should happen? An end to it. No more reserves. No more tax-free life and government-built homes. They should be treated exactly like everyone else in this country, for better and for worse. Canada is one country and we are one people, whatever our colour.