Article From The Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal.
The McGuinty government‘s proposed harmonized sales tax (HST)) will be especially hard on struggling families and on seniors on fixed incomes such as Milton and Anne Marion, says Ontario New Democratic Party leader Andrea Horwath.
Horwath and MP John Rafferty (NDP–Thunder Bay-Rainy River) met reporters Tuesday at the Marion home on West Arthur Street to show how the new tax will hurt the finances of families when they can least afford it.
For example, she noted the Marion‘s monthly home heating bill last December was $600. A new eight per cent tax will drive it up to nearly $650.
According to the new tax, starting July 1, 2010, Ontario would move to a single, value-added sales tax that would be federally administered. The single sales tax would have a combined rate of 13 per cent.
The provincial portion would be eight per cent – the same as the general RST rate – and the federal portion would be five per cent.
The Marions, who don‘t own a motor vehicle, would have to pay the tax on their weekly cab fare of $34 round trip to the Arthur Street Marketplace where they do their grocery shopping.
That‘s on top of all the other hits they will take on everything from haircuts to newspapers to postage stamps.
Horwath said in a few short months, over 50,000 people have signed the NDP‘s petition to stop what she refers to as McGuinty‘s unfair tax grab.
“We need to get our economy back on track with smart economic policies, not an unfair tax grab,” she said.
“The HST is the wrong tax at the wrong time. That‘s why I‘m asking all Ontarians to join my campaign against this tax.”
Horwath told reporters that people who have worked hard and are retired, like the Marion family, should have to enjoy their retirement with fewer worries, not more.[snip}
When Campbell lied again in his promise not to Harmonize the GST and PST I had thought seriously about moving out of this province. To Ontario in fact. And to Thunder Bay, my home town. I have the Chronicle Journal in my favorites and found this story today. So, since Ontario was warned in advance about this Tax Grab and they're further ahead on it, I have chosen to stay here and fight.
I also read online about the reorganization of government Ministries. One that stood out was just where the PAB (Public Affairs Bureau) will be handled from. More on that later this month.
So now, lets get into what really is bugging me:
1. Gordon Campbells' apparent deliberate mismanagement of our Provincial Economy.(while claiming to be the best one to manage it)
2. Gordon Campbells' destruction of our Fish Habitat.(by giving our rivers to multinational corporations) Man I can hardly wait for the fallout of the BCUC report. They have already tried to spin the report as being about Burrard Thermal. What a joke.
3. Gordon Campbells' destruction of BC Hydro (see #2) The PAB is hard at work earning their millions trying to spin that report.
4. Gordon Campbells' political destruction of BC Ferries. (Imagine jacking prices through the roof for travellers on the TRANS CANADA HIGHWAY just to pay some bufoon more than a million dollars a year to mismanage a company.
5. The biggest Gordon Campbell lie of all. We will not privatize BC Rail. (the ongoing saga to which I have reverted to searching for docuements. But never fear there will be articles here as well as comments at the Legislature Raids, House of infamy, Gazetteer,Bill Tieleman, and a host of other blogs. Keep this thing alive.
6. The Harmonization. (I'll be checking back with Ontario to get some ideas. For right now if you want to stop this idiocy go to Bill Tielemans blog to join NO BC HST
7. I also have a bad feeling about labour unrest in this province in the next little while and will be working on that as well.
And just at post time The Tyee blog The Hook posted an article about the letting of contracts for the new roof on the stadium. Have a good look at the article. They are talking about a preferred bidder to develop lands around the stadium.
Just a thought. Is Canacord still around?
No comments:
Post a Comment