An intelligent Martian asks a question that we can’t answer:
“Why does Canada have child benefits for modest income families and a child care deduction that favours the well to do?” Many of us fantasize what it would be like to brief an intelligent Martian on an earthbound topic. Recently a colleague and I got the chance. A spaceship landed in Scarborough Ontario and a female Martian (pronouns pho and dei) indicated through a telepathic translation machine that she wanted to understand our income security and personal tax systems in Canada. We set up a convenient time and began our conversation in Rouge Park. It proved too difficult to explain what coffee is - so we decided to get refreshments later. We started to explain to her (she has ten ears) that we have a tax and benefit system with…