6 October 6, 2010 + Over the Edge

Prince George Women Take Back the Night
Prince George women take to the streets to claim their right to safety

HELEN HOGETERP
COPY EDITOR

On the evening of Friday September 24" women from all walks of life rallied on the front steps of City Hall.
Speeches were given by organizer Jillian Humphrey of the S.O.S. society, mayor Dan Rogers, and other
supporters. This was the 19" annual Take Back the Night march in Prince George, an international event which
originated in Philadelphia in October of 1975. It is also known as Reclaim the Night in parts of Europe.

The purpose of Take Back the Night is to raise awareness about violence to women and children and to empower
women and children, especially survivors of sexual and domestic violence, to feel confident about walking
unescorted by men at night. This “sacred event” as Humphrey described it involved a couple of hundred women
and children marching down the streets of downtown Prince George carrying banners, signs, and candles while
chanting and cheering. Slogans such as “Women Unite, Take Back the Night!” and “Wherever | go, Whatever |
wear, Yes means Yes and No means NO!” Traffic was halted along the way, but allowed to move along after the
march had left the vicinity.

The Prince George & Area Elizabeth Frye society says on their website that “This is an event to honour the
women who have not survived violence, celebrate those that have, and demand that women and children be safe
in our community.” Prince George, according to crime statistics of Canadian cities listed in Maclean’s magazine,
ranked sixth for highest incidence of sexual violence and third for incidence of aggravated assault. “One of the
things | want to say about this event,” Humphrey said in her speech, “is that it really helps empower those who
have been victimized by violence — it can really help move people from victims to being more survivors and it
can be really inspirational.”

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There was also, prior to the march, a ballot for participants to fill out asking whether or not one would participate
if men were allowed to march as well next year, in the 20" annual Take Back the Night. Men were allowed to
participate in the rally at City Hall and the reception following the march, however they were not permited to
participate in the march itself. Mayor Dan Rogers expressed his support as a father and husband, but said that
he, as a 6-foot man, could not imagine how it must feel to feel unsafe while walking alone. “Il and many others,
while we may not walk side-by-side, we are there in supportive spirit because we know how important it is that

2004 oe

HELEN HOGETERP

Members of the UNBC Women's Centre participate in this year’s Take Back the

Night March

Students Hit Hardest by HST: B.C. Prof

Referendum on the controversial tax to be held September 2011

DANIELLE POPE
CUP WESTERN BUREAU CHIEF

VICTORIA (CUP) — As B.C. students settle into a new year of
studies, they’re also forced to cuddle up with a new tax that is
making many uncomfortable.

Since Harmonized Sales Tax was introduced to the province on
July 1, B.C. has seen nothing but controversy over how the tax
was introduced, what items remain tax-exempt and how other
provinces, like Ontario, seem to be succeeding where B.C. is
failing to generate support.

“A lot of people have become confused by the rhetoric about
what they’re actually paying now,” said Maureen Bader, B.C.
director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. “People really
need to just take a breath and look at what they’re actually
being asked to pay for.”

Bader says that while it certainly depends on the individual,
many students aren’t paying for anything more now than
they would have before — basic foods like milk, bread and
vegetables are still tax-exempt, despite the tax.

“HST does not make things cost more — it’s just that certain
items will obviously see more tax now,” Bader said. “It'll cost
you the same to buy a jug of milk, but it will be more to grab a
burger at McDonald’s, for example. Perhaps, it will just inspire
people to eat better.”

Yet this may not be true in all cases. At the University of

British Columbia, the students’ society owns and operates 14
businesses and employs close to 400 students on campus.
When HST kicked in, not only did more tax get added onto food
and general items, prices actually did go up.

Aslice of pizza that previously cost $2.75 in UBC’s student
union building would cost $2.94 with the new tax. So, the
student society decided to round the number to $3. And, for
the extra six cents per slice, the society expects to make over
$12,000 extra in profits over the year.

‘We sell a lot of pizza and prices haven’t been raised in almost
10 years anyway, so it was a convenient time to do so,” said
Bijan Ahmadian, students’ society president. “We’re at a point
where we're still monitoring the effects but, so far, we’ve seen
no decline in the amount of steady consumption on campus.”

Ahmadian says that he has received no complaints yet about
the raise in prices, though he acknowledges it’s still early.

“When students have their pockets turned out, of course
they spend less. Usually, that starts with alcohol,” he said.

“Surprisingly, we still haven’t seen any effect in pub business,
but we'll have to wait and see.”

Ahmadian says the students’ society plans on doing a deep
analysis in April to see how sales are affected by the new tax.
That said, he admits that variables in a poor economy make it
hard to pinpoint one source or another as a direct cause.

Bader says that the intention of HST is to simplify the tax
process, which ultimately helps businesses. And, if business is
healthy, the economy will soon follow, she says.

“What students really need to focus on right now, is seeing
what the government can do to enhance the economy.
Students want to see a hot economy. That means a more
competitive job market, and more jobs straight out of school,”
Bader said.

Not everyone is so optimistic about the tax’s future outcome,
however.

Dennis Pilon, a political science professor at the University
of Victoria, says he’s flummoxed by how some people are
choosing to view the tax.

“I’m old fashioned, but | like to see evidence to back wild
claims. This is like Santa Claus and everything else we
believe in without seeing,” said Pilon. “When the province
decided to adopt GST we saw one of the greatest downturns
in our economy. The idea that big businesses will pass on
their savings has been discredited for over 150 years, but it’s
popular with the powerful, so it keeps coming back.”

Pilon says that, despite reassurances that HST is no different
in many cases than what residents were paying before, that
statement is false.

“We have a new tax. This isn’t just a combo of PST and GST.
It’s a tax that takes responsibility off of corporate powers and
puts it on the shoulders of the consumer. So, students go out to
buy stuff and it costs more. It’s that straightforward.”

Pilon believes that students are, in fact, one of the hardest-hit
demographics with the new tax.

“We know that younger people typically have less money in
their income bracket. That’s why we call this a regressive tax; it
doesn’t take into account someone’s particular income — it just
blankets itself over everyone. A progressive tax, however, will
justify itself at the end and take individual income into account,”
he said.

Within three months of the tax’s inception, the B.C. government
is giving residents a chance to change it all in a referendum.
Pilon says this was a panicked move by the Liberal

you feel, and everyone feels safe in their community.”

government.

“Why did [Premier] Gordon Campbell promise the referendum
to the province? Well, because he’s in a corner. The party looks
bad, the public is hurting and he was playing a waiting game,”
Pilon said. “The Liberals hoped that people would just forget
about the decision and move on. When they didn’t, he decided
to do the only thing he could to try and save face.”

Pilon says he would be surprised if the Campbell government
didn’t follow through with the referendum, currently scheduled
for September 2011, but he also believes plenty of diversions
will be offered to the public.

“For people, or politicians, to say, ‘There’s nothing we can do
now that the tax is in,’ is just bunk. We’re in a democracy, of
course there’s something we can do. But the question will be:
How much does it cost? And you can bet that will be used as a
deterrent to sway voters,” he said.

Bader, however, believes that people should be less focused on
what’s already here and more focused on what will be coming
next.

“As long as the government keeps looking for more tax revenue
instead of cost-cutting measures, we’re going to see problems,”
she said. “There has to be a demand from the people for the
government to stop spending money at every turn, which can
only happen when people start being more self-reliant and stop
looking to the government to fix every little thing.”

DANIELLE POPE
Milk or coffee? The HST now makes it a choice between the two
for some students,