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Quebec Budget Could Hit Residents Where It Hurts

The Government of Quebec brought down it's provincial budget this week.  Residents can expect to be seriously out of pocket in the coming years due to various taxes and levies.

Among the measures are an increase in the gasoline tax, a health care levy based on the number of times a patient visits a doctor in a year, a hike in electricity rates, an increase in tuition fees as well as the cost of visiting provincial parks.  The province's sales tax, currently at 7.5 per cent, will rise to 9.5 per cent within 2 years.

But that's not all.  In a related announcement, the province's transport Minister proposed what he referred to "cost-saving energy related measures".  The measures, said the Minister, would result in substantial savings for the province.



For example, the traffic rule where right turns on red lights are forbidden in larger Quebec cities would be rescinded immediately.  The Minister says the rule is an "energy waster" as cars must stop and idle, burning fuel unnecessarily while waiting for the light to change.  "No right turn on red" signs will be replaced by "ready or not" signs.



Similarly, the yellow warning light in all traffic lights will be removed.  The Minister says too much power is being generated by all those yellow lights at all the intersections in the province and an incredible savings could be achieved through their removal.  "Step On It" signs will be installed at all intersections to replace yellow caution lights.



And finally, due to these traffic changes, the pedestrian "walk/don't walk" signs at intersections will be removed and replaced with "run like hell" signs.

Happy April Fool's Day, folks!

See how other bloggers have interpreted this week's topic of "yellow" at Theme Thursday.

Comments

Brian Miller said…
haha. i was waiting on someone to mix in april fools with their TT post and you did not disappoint...can we really get those step on it signs. smiles.
Skye said…
I like the "Run like Hell!" sign. This was great Mr. Dufus Sir, I do enjoy a good April Fools trick :D
Ziva said…
This was fun. :) And I think you're on to something with those signs..
Donnie said…
I was having no problem with this until the "run like hell" line. It all sounded so much like current Americana. I hope you didn't give the politicians here too many ideas though.
Anonymous said…
LOL.
Here in Youngstown stop signs mean to slow down under 30 MPH. Right turn on red, hell, we have left turn on red.

Great April Fools Day signs and post.

I hope it was anyway.
nonamedufus said…
Brian: Glad you enjoyed it. Happy TT and April Fool's Day.
nonamedufus said…
Skye: I couldn't let the day pass without having a little fun. Happy April Fool's.
nonamedufus said…
Ziva: The first half of the story is true. The second half makes about the same amount of sense. Taxes!
nonamedufus said…
Don: Ha, ha, wouldn't you love to see something like this. Given the silly things our politicians and their bureaucrats come up with it's not beyond the realm of possibility!
nonamedufus said…
lotgk: Here in Quebec, we thought we were unique in that the majority of drivers zoom right through stop signs. It's crazy. For years they'd talked about replacing them with WWT signs - Woah, Woah, Tabernacle. That'd be like an SSS sign in English - Stop, Stop for Shit's sake!
Me-Me King said…
Ahahahaha, you got me! Like Don, I was swallowing this hook, line and sinker. April Fool's Day, Dufus.
Ed & Jeanne said…
They might as well just put "drive like hell" in place of the yellow light...I mean, it always means "last chance to make the light" around here...
nonamedufus said…
Me-Me: What? It could happen. :)
nonamedufus said…
VE: Around here they wait for the red, then gun it. I swear most drivers are colour blind.
Leeuna said…
That's a good one Dufus. You had me going there for a minute.
nonamedufus said…
Leeuna: Happy April Fool's!
nonamedufus said…
Leeuna: Happy April Fool's!
nonamedufus said…
Leeuna: Stop me if you think I'm repeating myself.
Tom said…
ah! you suckered me.

Driving is really good way to raise your blood pressure. Who needs roller coasters!?
nonamedufus said…
Tom: Ah, you forgot what day it was?
America is so progressive compared to Canada. We've had right turn on red here for decades. High taxes, too, except all the money goes to failing Wall Street and insurance companies.
nonamedufus said…
Mike: I can recall driving through the States and getting honked at because I didn't know which State allowed right turns on red. On the high taxes thing, I wish I knew where the money went. Certainly not back to me in any way, shape or form.

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