THE STORY BEARS REPEATING

I re-tell stories because the population shifts and changes. New residents have a right to know what they need to know. Of course, they may move before the next election but if they do, somebody else takes their place. They inherit the stories.

 I am the interlocutor.

If no government existed  and  a dozen people bought a ten acre parcel of land with the intention of creating twelve lots  and formed an association and imposed equal tax on each, to build a road, would that be a business arrangement or charity? It would be the beginning of government.

If the person dealing with the contractor, negotiated to have his driveway paved and constructed  at no cost to himself within the contract, would that be smart business....corruption....or at best....a breach  of trust. 

If a well could be dug and septic system installed with cost shared,is that joint ownership ?  Or is it a Corporation? 

Would it be wise to let the chiseling cheat whose driveway got paved at everybody else's expense,  continue to represent the majority? 

The  first organised government in Canada was local. 

First public service....opening and building roads through wilderness. 

Yonge Street was built by a Corp of army engineers. Logs were cut and laid side by side and called corduroy roads. On some country roads ,log foundations can stil be felt. 

An anchor was dragged north to Lake Simcoe but abandoned at Holland Landing. Canal locks were  

halted , mid-construction , when the railway was approved.

I have seen council expenses for the month, handwritten , in a small account book , in amounts of one shilling and two-and-sixpence.... for road repairs. Two and sixpence sterling is half-a crown. 

For a special occasion,the late Jimmy Murray a former Mayor and owner, set up the original bar in the Queens Hotel  at the corner of Yonge and Wellington and invited Council for an evening in the past.   

In early days,Council met at various taverns in turn. Travel was by stagecoach and the journey from Lake Simcoe to Toronto took days,with stopovers  along the way. The underground parking on the south corner of Centre and Yonge was originally a hostelry. 

During the Great Depression ,some municipalities couldn't pay their bills.Bankruptcy was an option. 

With devastating impact on suppliers . 

The Ontario Municipal Board was created to prevent the practice. Until York Region was created in 1971,municipalities had to obtain permission from the OMB  for debenture debt. 

To this day, municipalities are not permitted to budget for a deficit. The principle is, taxes can only be collected for services provided duting the year provided.Those who received the services paid for the services. 

Ontario Regulations still provide for local improvement taxes. 

A history of taxation was published  in 1963 , in three volumes entitled The Smith Committee 

Report on Taxation.  It covered a hundred yearsof local government history.  Little had changed. 

Assessment and taxation had become grossly unequal. 

I was a candidate in 1963; again in a couple of years and elected in 1967,Canada's Centennial. 

I apprenticed during years of upheaval. I had the privilege of being involved In re-shaping Ontario history. 

I know some of how it was and I know how it is . 

It is unworthy of Ontario. 

It's a shame and a disgrace. Ignorance of history and principles of taxation is appalling. 

In Aurora, the worst degradation has been in the last thirteen years.