Nuts
A Senate committee wants drinkers to pony up a nickel a beer to help fund an ambitious, 10-year, $5-billion fund aimed at reforming mental health treatment in Canada.In a sweeping report released yesterday, the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology calls for a new excise tax on beer, wine and alcohol to pay for a transition fund to get mentally ill people out of hospitals and jails and back into the community.
cnews
There is not the slightest chance of this being implemented; but why another tax on booze? Why not gas or disposable diapers or a sumptuary tax on shoes costing more than $100.00 or anything with a brand logo on it?
And, hey, we have lots and lots of mentally ill people in the community. Tragically, they are often homeless and occassionally a danger to themselves or others. Before we start trying to get more of the mentally ill into our communities we might want to make sure that the people already there have the support and backup they need to get off the streets or, better still, never end up homeless in the first place.
Written by jay on May 11th, 2006 with
2 comments.
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#1. May 12th, 2006, at 9:53 PM.
If we’re going to tax anything to fund mental illness, it should be nuts. It’s just so…fitting.
For a good background on mental health issues in Alberta, read this.