I received not only an email, but several phone calls inviting me to a press conference 20 miles from my home just to hear this:

"The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, announces the official launch of a new national advertising campaign for the Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture andAgri-Food)."

Are they serious?

Have we not got better things to spend tax payer money on than advertising a tax credit that everyone already knows about, not to mention sending "honourables" and their staff running around the province setting up press releases?

If you look up an home improvement project on anybody's website these days, you'll see links to the tax credit (mine included). Major retail chains are using it as sales incentive and are spending gazillions promoting it themselves. My wife and I just purchased flooring and I walked past at least 2 stations where the government pamphlets were stacked en masse. The retailer had his own too (which was better I might add).

If giving us a tax credit is going to cost this much money, no wonder it's only for $1,380. If they spent a little less on saturating the market with promotions, maybe it could have been a $2,000 credit. Now that would have been worth searching for.