Taxpayers Coalition Niagara fonds
Date
Authors
Cameron, Chantal
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Fonds contains material about the activities of the Taxpayers Coalition Niagara. Most of the material is meeting minutes,correspondence, news clippings, financial reports, promotional material, newsletters, presentations, articles and reports.
Description
Taxpayers Coalition Niagara (TCN) was founded and incorporated in 1990 in response to the
increasing tax burden faced by citizens, and the sometimes questionable use of taxpayers’
money by the government. Originally founded as the Committee for Responsible
Government, the name was changed to Taxpayers Coalition Niagara in order to
facilitate membership in a similar provincial organization, Taxpayers Coalition Ontario.
The non-partisan Coalition was comprised of businessmen from St. Catharines, with
Frank Sheehan as President.
The objectives of the Coalition included individual freedom and responsibility;
obtaining maximum value for tax dollars; identifying and exposing irresponsible
government policy and practice; the reduction of debt at all levels of government; the
elimination of wasteful and unnecessary programmes; encouraging elected officials to
regain control of their bureaucracies; and discouraging ‘empire building’ within local
government. Early in 1991, the Coalition began advertising for members and financial support,
receiving $11 000 from 1100 supporters. The membership consisted of both businesses and
private citizens, eventually reaching 3500 members. The Coalition formed several committees,
each one responsible for monitoring a public sector, such as municipal councils, school boards,
police services and regional council. The Coalition worked towards achieving their objectives
through presentations given to these groups by the committee leaders, as well as through
‘letters to the Editor’ and advertisements in local newspapers.
Frank Sheehan resigned as President in 1995, in order to run as a Conservative
candidate in the Provincial election. In June 1995, Charles Atkinson was elected President.
The recent election of the Conservative government (led by Mike Harris) resulted in the
expectation that many of the Coalition’s objectives would be achieved by the newly
elected government. Accordingly, it was decided that the organization would operate in a
reduced capacity. The Coalition was terminated in April, 2003, after several years of little
or no activity.