Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FORSETH -- The problem with deferring what is owed is, the piper will still have to be paid

Some how I cannot help be feel a very LARGE disaster is looming on the near horizon – all of it due to COVID-19, and the accumulating provisos which have and continue to be made to, at least in the short-term, provide financial relief.

Businesses were closed, people were out of work, and no one knew how long that would be. For over a week now, BC has been of stage two of re-opening the province, provincial parks, workplaces and more.

What, however, is going to be the outcome of steps which were put in place early on, and through-out the COVID-19 pandemic?  Steps which have continued, and are still being expanded?

Banks are allowed deferrals for loans and mortgages ... and utilities including BC Hydro, provided deferrals for payment on regular monthly bills, and that included a 90-day deferral on payment offered by the Insurance Corporation of BC (ICBC).

The provincial government offered businesses filing and payment deadlines for the Employer Health Tax (EHT), the carbon tax, logging taxes, motor fuel taxes and more ... along with rent relief ... and much more.

The problem with deferring what is owed is ... the piper will still have to be paid. For those unaware of the meaning and origin of that phrase, I provide the following ... if you do not pay the piper (or pay your debts), something bad will happen to you ... (from Writing Explained)

And Grammarist offers this explanation ... when it is time to pay the piper it is time to accept the consequences of a thoughtless or rash action. Or the phrase can mean that it is time to fulfill a responsibility or promise, usually after the fulfillment has been delayed already ...

Okay, so where the heck are you going with this, you ask?

Well today, WorkSafeBC announced ... it is extending the deferral period for quarterly premium payments for an additional three months, without penalty or interest ...

That’s a deferral on payments owed, for what is now 6 months. And when, will the piper have to be paid?

Again, according to WorkSafeBC, payments for the first and second quarters will be due until October 20th ... when third-quarter payments are due.

Businesses – including some the hardest hit (hair salons and other personal services), restaurants, and many small mom and pop businesses -- that were closed and only just recently opened -- and which have had little much lower sales, and thus revenue, will be expected to ‘pay the piper’ for a total accumulated amount equal to NINE months!!


In other words – and to use another idiom – accumulated debts and payments have been further delayed.  It’s a game ... and a very unwise one ... of ‘Kick the can down the road’. In other words, dealing with what is potentially a BIG problem, has been avoided – but only temporarily ... as it has only been left to deal with at a future date.

The question know one seems to be asking, is what will happen when payments are defaulted because there is no money to pay them?

Government won’t be able to collect – meaning taxes will have to be increased and/or debt increased.

Utilities, and entities, such as ICBC will also not be able to collect those costs which have been kicked down the road, leaving them in an extremely vulnerable financial position.

Landlords will not be able to collect leaving them with no options other than to evict tenants, or to take pennies on the dollar for what is owed.

We need a plan to deal with how the piper is going to be paid – but I’m not hearing anything provincially from John Horgan’s NDP government ... nor from Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in Ottawa.

The clock is ticking ... and planning to deal with a potential serious financial disaster can't be delayed as well -- it has to begin now.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BC cannot regulate, redesign, and reinterpret its way to a stable forestry sector. Communities need clear rules, predictable timelines, and accountability for results.

Photo credit:  Atli Resources LP   BC’s Forestry Crisis Continues with Closure of Beaver Cove Chip Facility   As industry leaders, Indigenous partners, and contractors gather this week at the BC Natural Resources Forum in Prince George, the gap between government rhetoric and reality could not be clearer. Just hours after the Eby government once again touted reconciliation, certainty, and economic opportunity under DRIPA, Atli Chip Ltd, a company wholly owned by the ’Na̱mg̱is First Nation, announced it is managing the orderly closure of its Beaver Cove chip facility. The closure comes despite public tax dollars, repeated government announcements, and assurances that new policy frameworks would stabilize forestry employment and create long-term opportunity in rural and coastal British Columbia. “British Columbians are being told one story, while communities are living another,” said Ward Stamer, Critic for Forests. “This closure makes it clear that announcement...
Post a Comment
Read more

Stamer: Hope for Forestry Completely Shattered After Another Provincial Review Driven by DRIPA

IMAGE CREDIT:  Provincial Forestry Advisory Council Conservative Critic for Forests Ward Stamer says the final report from the Provincial Forestry Advisory Council confirms the worst fears of forestry workers and communities; instead of addressing the real issues driving mill closures and job losses, the NDP has produced a report that ignores industry realities and doubles down on governance restructuring. Despite years of warnings from forestry workers, contractors, and industry organizations about permitting delays, regulatory costs, fibre access, and the failure of BC Timber Sales, the PFAC report offers no urgency, no timelines, and no concrete action to stop the ongoing decline of the sector. “ This report completely shatters any remaining hope that the government is serious about saving forestry ,” said Stamer.  “ We didn’t need another study to tell us what industry has been saying for years. While mills close and workers lose their livelihoods, the NDP is focused on re...
Post a Comment
Read more

FORSETH – My question is, ‘How do we decide who is blue enough to be called a Conservative?’

How do we decide who’s blue enough to be a Conservative? AS OF TODAY (Friday January 30 th ), there are now eight individuals who have put their names forward to lead the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Having been involved with BC’s Conservatives since 2010, and having seen MANY ups and downs, having 8 people say “I want to lead the party” is to me, an incredible turn-around from the past. Sadly, however, it seems that our party cannot seem to shake what I, and others, call a purity test of ‘what is a Conservative’. And that seems to have already come to the forefront of the campaign by a couple of candidates. Let me just say as a Conservative Party of BC member, and as someone active in the party, that frustrates me to no end. Conservatives, more than any other political philosophy or belief, at least to me, seems to have the widest and broadest spectrum of ideals.   For the most part, they are anchored by these central thoughts --- smaller and less intru...
1 comment
Read more

Labels

Show more