The first long weekend of the summer was quite a weekend indeed — sandwiched between Canada Day on July 1 and Tax Freedom Day on June 28.

In your haste to get to the beach or the BBQ pit, you might have missed the announcement about the latter. But, according to the Fraser Institute,Canadians finally started working for themselves at the end of June. And, fittingly enough, we celebrated by takinga long weekend.

To be honest, it hadn’t really sunk in — until they mentioned it — that I’d been working for the rest of you. For the most part, it’s been a piece of cake. I managed to pay my taxes, and I never went without a meal or a roof over my head for a single evening.

But since I have been in your employ for the past sixmonths, I thought I should offer you all some sort ofprogress report.

Just to jog your memory, then, I’ve been working fromoverseas, in Europe. One of those Brain Drainers, Isuppose; but one who still chooses to send money hometo Canada. (Note to Revenue Canada: did you get lastyear’s cheque?)Naturally, I hope my money is being spent carefully.But, then, we’re lucky to have the CBC to keep an eye onthe government, aren’t we? (You have been sharing someof my cheques with the CBC, haven’t you?)Of course, I do worry once in a while about where some ofmy money goes (all those extravagant company picnicsin Quebec!). Certainly someone needs to clamp down onwaste and corruption. But it’s hard not to notice thatmy Canada Pension Plan remains rock solid — which ismore than we can say for the poor folk who wereplanning to retire on WorldCom or Enron.

Although the Fraser Institute goes out of its way todiscourage us from considering the “benefits Canadiansreceive from governments in return for their taxes,” Ifind it hard not to think about how much bang you getfor my buck.

I suppose a lot of your kids attended school this year andwill be headed off to university soon enough. I’mhappy to think that some of my tax dollars arefinancing their higher education (no need to sendphotos). It’s only been a decade since I myselfbenefitted from public funding of Canada’suniversities. In fact, as the first person in myfamily to go to college, I ended up in university inlarge part because the costs were highly subsidized —and remained within the means of a working class kidfrom New Brunswick. Thanks to summer jobs,scholarships and tuition subsidized by taxpayers, Igraduated $8,000 in debt, rather than $40,000.

More recent graduates are rarely so lucky.

Sometimes I even begin to wonder if our obsession withbeing free of taxes doesn’t have a disproportionateimpact upon our youngest generation. Many of myfriends didn’t realize freedom could be so darnexpensive, until they tried to get an education.Often, they can look forward to taking out theequivalent of a small mortgage in order to get theiruniversity degrees.

They face six or seven years of higher education and thenanother six or seven years of digging their way out of debt — just to get back to the starting line.

The prospect of celebrating Tax Freedom Day earlier inthe year — which is, after all, what all the fuss is about — isn’t all that tempting to the young, offering them little (apart from the slogan: “Give me liberty, andgive me debt!”)

I have similar reservations when it comes to healthcare.

As a Canadian abroad, I have to confess to a certainamount of boasting about the fact that no Canadianenjoys the dubious freedom of paying $60,000 hospitalbills out of their own pocket. A liberty still enjoyedby many less fortunate Americans.

In fact, according to recent surveys, most Canadians wouldeven favour a slight tax increase if the proceeds wereearmarked for more public health spending.

Keep me posted on this one, I’d be happy to top up myannual cheques, if only our government would followthe lead of the United Kingdom, which recently raisedtaxes modestly for the same purpose.

I know, I know.

This would mean that Tax Freedom Day would fall a bitlater in 2003. In fact, next year, it might even falldirectly on Canada Day.

Which, when you stop to think about it,sounds just about right.