A national campaign for tax fairness made a brief stop in Weyburn on Wednesday, as a large green bus with the words "Fair is fair" parked at the City Centre Mall parking lot next to Railway Avenue.
A national campaign for tax fairness made a brief stop in Weyburn on Wednesday, as a large green bus with the words "Fair is fair" parked at the City Centre Mall parking lot next to Railway Avenue.
Across the country, the "Fairness Express" is a project of the National Union of Public and General Employees, a national umbrella group that includes provincially-based unions like SGEU (Saskatchewan Government Employees Union).
While the bus travels through Saskatchewan, it is being manned by SGEU members, and the goal is to engage residents in towns and cities around the province around the topics of tax fairness, and supporting labour rights.
Asked what sort of comments or concerns were being heard, Bob Stadnichuk related a story passed to him by one man who had some frustration in getting a good job here in Weyburn.
"One employer offered him a job on a roofing crew, and when he showed up to work, the position had been filled with a temporary foreign worker," he said, adding from other comments received, "Retirees are finding out their pensions aren't covering their needs."
He added that good jobs are important, and so is fairness at all levels of the economy.
"Taxation and fairness comes into play through good wages. We need fair taxation so it's not just the middle class paying all the taxes," said Stadnichuk.
Part of the argument for tax fairness is to collect more from those who can afford more, by closing loopholes and end policies that favour the one per cent who get the highest wages in the country.
The bus had only been to Humboldt and Regina before arriving in Weyburn, and from here the bus went on to Estevan and Assiniboia before heading to Swift Current, Maple Creek, Moose Jaw, Lloydminster, Meadow Lake, Nipawin, Saskatoon and Wapella.
Prior to the Saskatchewan tour, the bus made its way through the Maritimes, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C., and will be in Saskatchewan until Oct. 11.
