CHRIS IN THE COMMONS: Sending Harper a message from the Mountain - H$T is bad for Mountain families

Ms. Chris Charlton (Hamilton Mountain, NDP):

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to table a petition today on behalf of hundreds of people on Hamilton Mountain who are outraged by the government’s intention to harmonize the sales tax with the PST in Ontario.

Despite the government’s contention that the harmonization is a provincial matter, the petitioners are keenly aware that Ontario would not have acted if it had not been for the $4.3 billion of taxpayers’ money that the federal government offered to pay the province as an inducement for harmonization.

Working families and seniors are already finding it difficult to make ends meet, and the additional 8% sales tax on everything from electricity to vitamins to haircuts is something they can not afford.

The petitioners call on the government to demonstrate fair and responsible leadership on taxation policy by withdrawing the $4.3 billion bribe and abandoning its plans for harmonizing the sales tax.