The Cadre

Student Union news

Things are off to a running start at the Union. Probably

| the biggest news is the reorganization of CIMN, UPEI’s student radio station. Officially, the CIMN management

Some of the things the new managers are going to jump | on are getting the radio connection to the residences im- | proved, and getting CIMN back in the pit. They are also | working on a deal with Island Cablevision to give students _CIMN access via radio cable.

The Student Union is also looking for a “student at large” | (astudent not affiliated with CIMN or, preferably, any other _ Student Union Sub Organization) to sit on the CIMN Board

of Directors. The Board of Directors (BOD) will most likely | meet ever two or three weeks for about an hour. With all of these improvments to CIMN, there are lots | of opportunities for new volunteers. If you are interested in

| getting involved with student radio, goto the third floor of the Barn, where you'll find volunteer sign up sheets handily | placed at the entrance to CIMN.

The Student Union Council has formed a committee to research and pro action against the Value for Money Audit being conducted by the Provincial Government (see article in last week’s Cadre if you’re unsure over what the Value for Money Audit really is). Anyone wanting to contribute to this committee can e-mail their Council mem- ber, any member of the SU executive, or post a message to the SU Notice Board, which has recently been opened up for general access again.

There’s a new promotions co-ordinator in town -- Matt Gray -- so look for posters advertising upcoming Student Union Events. Regularevents are as follows: Tuesday nights are game nights, Wednesday nights are trivia, and Friday afternoons are movie pubs.

January 28th is the National Day of Action sponsored by CFS. Universities and Colleges from across Canada will be hosting events from teach-ins to rallies to raise awareness about issues facing students. Here at UPEI, the PEI compo- nent of CFS will be hosting speakers in the Pit. Speakers from the Provincial Government, the Official Opposition, the NDP, social activist groups and the Student Union will address students at lunch time. Students will have the opportunity to grill the ers on current issues (including tuition increases, the value for audit and the govern- ment’s committment, or lack thereof, to higher education).

Hope everyone had a great holiday, and good luck in the

upcoming school year. 4 J

ETE A arr

ee:

Official opposition

announces.

“Canada is top when it comes to paying taxes."

BY BRODY MORRISON

On January 15, in Lon- don, Ontario, Preston Man- ning announced startling fig- ures about Canadian tax pay- ers.

“The average Canadian family today pays almost half their income to the tax man. As many as 6,1 million Cana- dians earning less than $25,000 have to pay high taxes,” Man- ning told a luncheon meeting of the Society of Management Accountants of Ontario. “In fact, Canadians are paying more in taxes than for food, clothing and shelter com-

bined ™

He added that “this year, two out of every three dollars in new income will be eaten by a tax-hungry Liberal Govern- ment. That means the tax bur- den will be rising faster than any other cost of living.”

Earlier in the day, the Reform leader spoke at a breakfast in Milton where he was joined by Reform Rev- enue critic Jason Kenney.

“Our tax burden is squeezing families, killing jobs, reducing investment and caus- ing a brain drain, as our best and brightest move to coun- tries where they can keep more of the money they make,” he said. “Canada’s tax burden is

nothing short of a tragedy.”

This may be true for most students at UPEI, some of whom agree that they will prob- ably leave the province after their education. As for leaving the country, many students are divided.

At the Wallaceburg and District Chamber of Com- merce in South-Western On- tario, Manning pointed to the 71 tax increases imposed by Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien as the root of Cana- da’s high tax problem.

He went on to propose that 50 percent of all future surpluses should go to tax re- lief. By the year 2001, the federal government should re- duce taxes by $15-billion, or $2,000 for a family of four.

The possible implications on graduate students are tre- mendous. Few students want half oftheir income to goto the "Martin Mortgage” and the burden of a student loan debt. This sort of problem will be seen first-hand by all graduat- ing students this year. will be faced with the fact that almost all of their income is will be going towards debt.

"I Love this country,” one student said. "However, | am going to let it educate me

and train me and then | am going to leave it behind, to benefit another country that treats its citizens with more respect.”

No response to Man- ning’ sannouncementhas been made by the Liberals but they did state that they will spend surplus while the Reform party says that half of the surplus should go towards the debt. This announcement, and its support is another sign of the resent popularity of Reform in

Ontario, and has even prompted some concern from the Liberals.

The fact that Reform came in second in every rid- ding is starting to become a reality and a worry to the Lib- erals.

In asking Manning how the student loan debt may be changed or made easier on students to pay has been quoted as saying that he can possible see a paying of student loan through income tax, which is an idea that has not been pro- posed before.

What does this mean for students? It would mean stu- dents would pay back their loans based on income and not a flat rate or monthly payment.