HST Begins With a Bang on Canada Day
Fireworks celebrations on July 1st do not escape Harmonized Sales Tax
THUNDER BAY – Canada Day celebrations this year will have a little less bang for the buck as the Harper-McGuinty HST will make it more expensive to buy even fireworks. It’s a fitting start to how this unfair tax shift will affect daily life in Ontario.
“Prime Minister Harper and Premier McGuinty have conspired to shift the tax burden from big business to the hard working families of Ontario,” said New Democrat Leader Jack Layton. “For people already struggling to make ends meet, the increase they see at the pumps and in their utility bills will be an unwelcome reminder of Harper’s shameful tax grab.”
In November, the Conservative government, with the support of Liberal MPs, rushed HST legislation through the House of Commons before a full public debate could be held. Input from elected representatives was further stifled by the Harper’s unilateral prorogation of parliament in January. The HST has been strongly opposed by both federal and Ontario New Democrats.
“It’s pretty low that they’ve even hit Canada Day celebrations with the HST” said Bruce Hyer, MP for Thunder Bay–Superior North and the New Democrat Tourism Critic. “The HST is a case of two plus two equals five. In combining the GST with the PST, Harper and McGuinty have come up with a tax whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s because it will be applied to a vast range of things we currently don’t pay the PST on – making things like gasoline, air and rail travel, taxis fares, bus tickets, and commercial rent 8 percent more expensive, just to name a few. Fireworks, admissions tickets, summer camps, and hotel bills don’t escape a tax hike either, and this will put a damper on some Canada Day celebrations this year.”
“It’s just tasteless. July 1st is supposed a day of celebration and relaxation, but instead people are going to have to worry about paying 8 percent more to go camping with their friends and families and paying 8 percent more to get there,” said Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty. “The bottom line is that forcing this tax on families, without discussing it in an election campaign or holding public consultations, is not right and is coming at the worst time as families continue to struggle at the end of the recession. As New Democrats, we continue to strongly oppose this unfair tax and will continue to our work to make the life more affordable for families in Northwestern Ontario.
