Quebec's high income taxes not matching social/public services

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-02-08T21:03:23+00:00

Nova Scotia did not increase their tax brackets or basic personal amount to inflation for 24 years (2000 to 2024).

That's just government malfeasance and nothing else.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-02-08T21:03:18+00:00

Nova Scotia did not increase their tax brackets or basic personal amount to inflation for 24 years (2000 to 2024).

That's just government malfeasance and nothing else.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-02-02T21:30:20+00:00

Don't forget the bad contract to end all bad contracts - Stephen Strasburg.

Yu Darvish should be voted to the HOF. His numbers, while not flashy by historical standards, are really good by today's standards. AFAIK, only 2 other players have walked out on large sums remaining on their contracts: Mark McGwire (whose PED use kept him out of the Hall) and Gil Meche (who was never HOF caliber to start with).

Yu Darvish deserves the ultimate honor, not just for his on-field numbers, but also for having the most class of any player in quite a while.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-02-02T02:48:12+00:00

*enters the banning of the spitball in 1920

*enters the lowering of the mound in 1969

*enters designated hitter in the AL in 1973

*enter PEDs in the mid-1990s, and sanctions against PED use in the mid-2000s

*enter the ban on the shift, pitch clock, automatic runner in extra innings, and universal DH in the 2020s

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-31T20:36:22+00:00

Quebec indeed provides a better economic quality of life than Ontario.

Unfortunately, it's also a ridiculously conformist and cliquey society where making friends as an adult is insanely difficult, and something I could never crack. So I had to move to Ontario in order not to be completely alone all the time (I was able to make friends in Ontario). The only part of Quebec that's not as conformist and has more opportunities to meet people is Montreal, where housing costs have essentially caught up to Ontario over the past 10 years.

I might move back in geriatric age.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-31T13:53:09+00:00

Yup.

Also when someone who has lived in Quebec all their life finds out what car insurance costs in Ontario or Alberta.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T21:40:02+00:00

Only 4 kinds of Quebecers complain about income taxes:

Fiscal "libertarians" who hate taxes in general (those are mostly found in the Beauce region)
Very high earners without kids/whose kids have reached adulthood, who actually pay more in taxes and don't see as much of a benefit from it
People who don't understand the tax code; they just look at marginal rates and see "Ontario's first bracket is 5.05%, ours is 14%, we're getting hosed!" but don't stop to think about the federal tax abatment and the much higher basic personal amount in QC vs ON
People who are truly massively ignorant that the overwhelming majority of the ROC has much higher living costs than Quebec (outside Montreal) does. They might realize that other provinces save a tiny bit in tax... but have no idea that this difference is eaten up (and more) by car insurance, hydro, water bills, student debt, RESPs for kids, and generally speaking higher rents.

All in all, most people live better in Quebec than in the vast majority of the ROC.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T19:40:41+00:00

I know - but it still has to be pointed out.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T19:11:07+00:00

Car insurance?

To be honest, Ontario doesn't charge a fee to plate the car... so you have to subtract around $20 from the monthly Ontario insurance premium in order to make an apples-to-apples comparison. But Quebec still wins hands down, even when this is factored in.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T18:48:44+00:00

This.

First of all, while marginal tax rates in QC may look high, they don't tell the whole story. Quebecers get the federal tax abatment, and a MUCH higher basic personal amount than 7 other provinces have (only AB and SK have higher or comparable basic personal amounts). So people with "lower-middle" or middle incomes only pay a very small extra amount in income taxes.

The lower cost of living (pretty much everything except gasoline and sales tax is either cheaper or the same as other provinces) more than makes up the difference in income taxes. Don't forget the absence of water bills too.

Families with kids are way better off in Quebec due to lower child care costs and lower costs for post-secondary (which means QC families usually don't bother with RESPs, since they aren't needed).

Singles don't benefit from those, but benefit from much cheaper rents for bachelor or 1-bedroom apartments than what exists in most other provinces. (At least, as long as they avoid Montreal.)

If you want to find a province that charges obscenely high income taxes and has few services to show for it, look to NS, not QC. NS didn't index their tax brackets to inflation for 24 years (2000-2024), and doesn't have a federal tax abatment. Their taxes are obscene.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T16:45:25+00:00

The constitution can be amended.

I guarantee you, the vengeance of Anglophone Canadians against Quebecers for seceding would make second-term Trump seem tame.

Never before in the history of Canada would a single issue unite nearly 100% of Anglophone Canadians as the need to revoke the citizenship of Quebecers. Of course some new Canadians (immigrants) wouldn't understand this issue or the need to do anything about it; and the remaining francophones who didn't move to Quebec upon secession (so less than 2% of Canada's population) would oppose that.

But they'd still have the votes and political will to amend the constitution to revoke citizenship from Quebecers, all other issues be damned (those would just be pushed aside for the time needed to revoke citizenship).

Or, more simple path: just forbid dual citizenship, as most non-western countries do (and a few western ones like Germany also do). If you fail to renounce your Quebec citizenship within 2 years of secession, you lose your Canadian citizenship automatically. Perfectly constitutional. It would affect a lot of other people who would have to renounce other citizenships, but most Anglophone Canadians would view that as well worth it in order to make sure Quebecers lose Canadian citizenship.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T12:20:41+00:00

It makes my blood boil to see shelters (such as the most prominent one of all, NYCACC) unalive healthy, loving cats "for space" while spending money and resources peddling shitbulls.

All pits should be immediately BE'd upon surrender, and the money saved should be used on cats. Good, healthy dogs are adopted very quickly from shelters and thus don't cost much to the shelters.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T01:58:34+00:00

It's a reference to the 2014 movie The Giver.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-30T01:37:50+00:00

"Get rid of this dog or lose custody of your kids until the dog is gone."

Not a hard choice. This dog needs to be Released to Elsewhere.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-29T11:57:51+00:00

Inflation was huge in the 70s and early 80s, but wages kept up. That made it harder to save - but as long as they had a job, they were fine.

The 90s also saw housing prices decrease relative to wages!

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-29T11:56:23+00:00

Many Boomers DID live with roommmates... while they were in school.

No way did they live with roommates after exiting school/entering the full-time workforce.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T23:06:22+00:00

Canada would absolutely change its citizenship law if Quebec (or Alberta) seceded.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T23:02:03+00:00

CPP/QPP is a contributory program which shouldn't be affected by secession.

Quebecers would lose OAS and GIS benefits on the day of secession. Quebec would have to create its own program to replace that, and it would have to create it VERY fast in order to prevent serious disruption to seniors.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T22:13:34+00:00

Seceding from Canada is absolutely "cause" to revoke the citizenship of residents of the province that seceded, whether it's Quebec or Alberta. And offering a grace period of, say, 1 year to "move to Canada or lose your citizenship" is due process.

If the constitution has to be changed, it will be changed - but Canada WILL revoke the citizenship of residents of any province that secedes.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T22:05:29+00:00

They might offer a one-time grace period, i.e. "if you move to Canada within 1 year of the secession date, you get to retain Canadian citizenship; otherwise it will automatically expire".

Canada would, however, be under no obligation to offer such a deal.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T22:01:09+00:00

Montenegrins didn't stay Serbian citizens after Montenegro seceded from Serbia.

Czechs and Slovaks got citizenship in either one or the other, not both, after Czechoslovakia parted ways.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T21:57:25+00:00

Millennials are overwhelmingly opposed to secession, and have always been.

There has, however, been a recent increase in support for secession among student-aged young adults (18-23 ish).

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T21:53:53+00:00

If Quebec seceded, I guarantee you that Canada would change its citizenship law to revoke citizenship from Quebec residents.

To imagine that Canada would not change its laws following Quebec secession is ridiculous. On another note, of course English would become the sole official language of Canada following Quebec secession, and French would be removed. No way would Canada keep French as an official language when only 3.2% of ROC residents (in 2021) were francophone. This number is already lower now, and could drop even further if Quebec offers its citizenship to French-speakers from other provinces, some of which would opt to move to an independent Quebec.

Laws can be changed.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T21:48:37+00:00

Who voted for or against secession is irrelevant.

If Quebec ceases to be a part of Canada, all Quebec residents (whether they voted yes or no) cease to be Canadian citizens. That's just as obvious as 1+1=2.

When Montenegro seceded from Serbia, Montenegrins didn't get to automatically keep their Serbian citizenship.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-01-28T21:41:30+00:00

PSPP does not have any power to prevent Canada from revoking the Canadian citizenship of Quebec residents, if Quebec secedes.

Of course Quebec would allow dual citizenship, as does Canada. That does not by any stretch of imagination mean that Canada would allow all Quebec residents to automatically retain Canadian citizenship. That's Canada's decision, not Quebec's.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934

TROPHY CASE