Masset councillor Rollie Wheeler wants to convince the federal government that islanders deserve the full northern residents tax deduction.
Right now, the federal government considers the islands an "intermediate prescribed zone" which means islanders can only get a portion of the northern tax deduction.
Mr. Wheeler told council members last Monday (Jan. 27) that he has requested a list of communities receiving the full deduction and communities receiving the partial deduction. He has also been in contact with MP Andy Burton's office, which has offered to help him convince Ottawa that the islands are remote enough to deserve the full deduction.
Mayor Barry Pages told him that islanders have been fighting the federal government on this issue for many years, with no success.
"They may say no 100 times but you never know when they're going to say yes," Mr. Wheeler replied. "They can't kill you, they can't shoot you, they can only say no."
The list of places in prescribed zones is available on the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's web page. Communities in BC which receive the full deduction include Atlin, Dease Lake, and Telegraph Creek. Communities in the intermediate zone include Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Chetwynd, as well as the islands.
Mr. Wheeler recently had some success battling the federal bureaucracy. He told council members that he phoned an official to complain after reading a Transport Canada ad in the Observer about an important meeting for the fishing community. The official had organized only one meeting on the islands, in Queen Charlotte.
"I got him on the phone and he apologized," Mr. Wheeler said, adding that the official promised to arrange a meeting in Masset later this year. "They will come back."