Kris Sims was one of the few people who did not before B.C.sa国际传媒檚 Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services to ask for money.

The nine-person committee is currently touring the province, collecting public input in advance of the next provincial budget, and Sims, the B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, drove from the Fraser Valley to Cranbrook, where the dommittee was in session Thursday.

She came armed with a top 10 list of items the CTF and its 15,000-strong B.C. membership wanted to see.

1. Balance the budget. sa国际传媒淚f theresa国际传媒檚 one thing that gets our supporters riled up, getting people writing letters to the editor and calling talk radio stations, they say sa国际传媒楤alance our budget.sa国际传媒� They donsa国际传媒檛 like to see deficits, they donsa国际传媒檛 like to see province going further into debt, because they know what it does to their own household.sa国际传媒�

2. Cancel the B.C. carbon tax. sa国际传媒淧eople are fed up with it,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淎nd top of that we found out during the last mini-budget that itsa国际传媒檚 not even going to revenue-neutral anymore, and it hasnsa国际传媒檛 been revenue neutral for several years. The Fraser Institute, one of our colleagues, found that the previous government had been taking old tax credits sa国际传媒� years old sa国际传媒� and adding them to the balance sheet of the current budget, for the carbon tax, to make it look balanced and neutral. It wasnsa国际传媒檛. It was costing families $800 a year.sa国际传媒�

3. Eliminate the Medical Services Plan premium: sa国际传媒淲e were very happy to see the MSP cut by 50 per cent by the previous government,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淎nd this new government to finishing it off sa国际传媒� eliminating it 100 per cent.sa国际传媒�

4. Stop raiding Crown Corporations: sa国际传媒淚f yousa国际传媒檝e got a budget shortfall, donsa国际传媒檛 turn around and scoop money out of places like ICBC and BC Hydro,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淲e are ratepayers for those services, and when we see our money going to things other than auto insurance and hydro prices and just being used to paper over a budget shortfall, that really ticks people off.sa国际传媒�

5. On ICBC: sa国际传媒淲e think it needs an overhaul, not just a tune-up,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淲e think ICBC should be turned into a co-op. Turn it into something like Mountain Equipment Co-op or VanCity. Make it owned by B.C. drivers, so if you choose to take your basic auto insurance out with this nice new ICBC co-op, you can do that. And then open that co-op up to private competition from other companies. So if yousa国际传媒檙e a great driver, you can shop around and get a lower rate.sa国际传媒�

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6. Donsa国际传媒檛 kill the Site C dam: sa国际传媒淲e say this with cautions,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淏y now, wesa国际传媒檙e in it. When we asked our supporters, they said donsa国际传媒檛 kill it, be as stringent and prudent and careful as possible, but wesa国际传媒檝e invested so much money in it now, better to see it through. sa国际传媒� If we bail out now, BC Hydro at least is saying that it will cost $7 billion.sa国际传媒�

7. Get government contracts, including boards and councils, under control. sa国际传媒淥ne of the heads of TransLink makes more than the Prime Minister of Canada, as does her second-in-command,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淭here are tons of boards like this, and theysa国际传媒檙e basically permanent government. People donsa国际传媒檛 hear about them or know about them, theysa国际传媒檙e not elected, but theysa国际传媒檙e paid an outrageous amount of money.sa国际传媒�

8. Eliminate the vote tax: sa国际传媒淭he government has imposed a transition fund sa国际传媒� a vote tax of $16 million thatsa国际传媒檚 coming out of taxpayerssa国际传媒� pockets,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淲hen you break it down per vote it doesnsa国际传媒檛 sound like a lot of money. But most people donsa国际传媒檛 want their tax dollar going to a lawn sign or an attack ad. If yousa国际传媒檙e running for any political party, raise your own money.sa国际传媒�

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9. Donsa国际传媒檛 block the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion: sa国际传媒淲e understand there are concerns,sa国际传媒� Sims said. sa国际传媒淲e also understand the Trudeau Liberal government has approved it, and that lots and lots of people and lots of boards have reviewed this. If we rely on these important economic engines of our economy, and we allow them to continue things like Kinder Morgan, it helps the tax base.sa国际传媒�

10. Reduce spending and lower taxes: sa国际传媒淭he men and women on the pre-budget committee are getting swamped with spending requests. Wesa国际传媒檙e there to say stop. Cut your spending, and reduce our taxes. And as far as we can tell, we among the only people going to these meetings saying, sa国际传媒楶lease stop!sa国际传媒檚a国际传媒�

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation came into being as a response to the implementation of the goods and services tax in 1990.