Covering Occupy Toronto
Ever since I first moved away from the small town that I grew up in, I’ve been trying to understand social movements; why and how they exist. It was not that I wanted to participate in them necessarily, but I always felt guilty that I didn’t take as much interest in our society as some of these protesters.
I know that as a journalist, I am supposed to be unbiased, but it is very difficult for me when studying the issue of the occupy movements in Canada. Since 519 Online News will be covering Occupy Toronto tomorrow, I figured that I should get my opinions out now.
It is my opinion that the occupy movements do not have any business being in Canada. I cannot speak for other countries, but I know a little something about the Canadian taxation system.
The main premise of the occupy movements is to protest corporate greed and the 99 per cent. In Canada, we have an aggressive tax system to help distribute wealth throughout society. Yes, we have rich people and poor people, but that is something that cannot be avoided in a capitalist society. And in Canada, the government does a lot to make sure that money is taken from the rich and distributed back to society in form of healthcare, education, welfare; services to serve the general public.
As a student; one who has applied and received OSAP ever year of her post-secondary education, I know that I will have debt after graduation. But OSAP is yet another government program designed to help people afford school so that they can educate themselves for the betterment of society.
The simple fact is that Canada government has done a lot to ‘even out the playing field’ if you will. If protesters in Toronto are complaining about how post-secondary students graduate with debt, or how some people have more money than they do, perhaps they should look at how much money the federal and provincial governments collectively take from the highest tax bracket; about 40 per cent.
