“With almost half of all MGEU members working directly for the province of Manitoba, it’s important for members to talk about public services and how these services are impacted by taxation. This is a chance for our members to address these issues and get informed,” said Lois Wales, MGEU president.

Winnipeg (26 April 2011) - It's the last week of the federal election campaign and many are wondering where the parties stand on important issues like tax fairness and public services. What will it all look like after May 2? The Manitoba Government and General Employees Union (MGEU/NUPGE) will tackle these issues in a town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 27 at 7 pm.

“With almost half of all MGEU members working directly for the province of Manitoba, it’s important for members to talk about public services and how these services are impacted by taxation. This is a chance for our members to address these issues and get informed,” said Lois Wales, MGEU president.

The Telephone Town Hall will be hosted by journalist and best-selling author Linda McQuaig, economist and University of Manitoba Professor, John Loxley, and National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) President James Clancy.

It’s time to talk Tax Fairness. Did you know:

- The richest 1% of Canadians doubled their share of income between the late 1970s and 2007; and the richest 0.01% quintupled their share. Meanwhile, average wages in Canada have remained stagnant for about 30 years.

- Our governments don’t have a spending problem. In 1992, total spending was 53% as a share of our economy. In 2008 it was 39%.

- We have a tax fairness problem. The top 1% earners in Canada paid a lower total tax rate than the poorest 10%. How is that fair?

- By 2012, Canada will have the lowest corporate tax rates in the G7. Canada's rate will be 15% lower than the US, yet governments say they are running deficits and will need to cut public services. How is that fair?

Let’s have a real conversation about the big issues.

To submit a question for our guest panel to answer during the MGEU Telephone Townhall, email the MGEU Resource Centre by Wednesday, April 27th at 7pm.

We hope you stay on the line on April 27th.

Or join NUPGE’s Virtual Town Hall on April 28th live on the All Together Now! website [1]

 NUPGE

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE

More information:

All Together Now! Virtual Town Hall: [1] April 28, 6 pm: submit your question on Facebook [2]or @ATNcampaign on Twitter using #all2gether