Chiefs meet with government bigwigs today about HST

SooToday.

SooToday.com has received the following letter from the Northern Ontario New Democrat Caucus:

************************* House of Commons

June 4, 2010

Honourable James Flaherty Minister of Finance Government of Canada 140 O'Connor Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5

MP Honourable Dwight Duncan, MPP Canada Minister of Finance Government of Ontario 7 Queen's Park Crescent 7th floor Toronto, Ontario M7A 1Y7

Dear Ministers,

We are aware that a meeting is scheduled for June 7, 2010, between senior officials of the federal and provincial governments, and the Political Confederacy of the Chiefs of Ontario.

It is anticipated that senior government officials will have the ability and mandate to negotiate an agreement relating to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and the point-of -sale exemption for First Nations.

As you know, First Nations have curtailed some of their action plans in the hopes that you are sincere in your willingness to resolve this issue.

First Nations leaders and their membership are frustrated with the finger pointing as to which level of government should be addressing their concerns pertaining to the loss of point-of-sale exemption.

Instead of being bounced around, they would prefer a quick end to resolving this issue in a favourable manner.

The fact remains that both levels of government knew full well that a point of sale exemption existed for Ontario First Nations and it would appear that your governments chose to either turn a blind eye or attempted to circumvent this agreement.

The federal government (Minister Flaherty) indicates that the exemption is possible under CITCA provided that “the cost of the point-of-sale rebate be accurately measurable for the purpose of determining its impact on provincial revenues, that the measure be enforceable and administrable, and that it not impose a significant burden on businesses” or that there be an “Ontario-administered point-of-sale exemption”.

We can assure you that the manner in which you resolve this issue truly depends on the willingness on both parts of the federal and provincial governments.

Maintaining the current point of sale exemption should have no impact on current provincial revenues given that the province does not currently rely on these revenues.

Further, we would like to remind you that the Indian status card currently is used as a tool to measure, enforce and administer the current point-of-sale exemption.

One would hope that the new SCIS card could provide a higher level of security in ensuring that the concerns of the federal government on this issue are addressed.

We strongly urge that a contingency plan be put in place to honour the current point-of-sale exemption.

In the interim, in the event that the finalization of any agreement cannot be reached prior to the implementation of the HST on July 1, 2010, we would encourage you to extend the current point-of-sale exemption practice.

In addition, we ask that arrangements be also made to reimburse Ontario First Nations members retroactively on any items/services they have paid HST on since May 1, 2010, providing that they show their proof of purchase receipt, since the HST is currently being charged on certain items.

Given that the full implementation of the HST deadline is fast approaching, we trust all involved will seriously commit to resolving this issue in a priority fashion by ensuring that you honour your obligations to First Nations through meaningful consultations.

Respectfully submitted,

Charlie Angus, MP Timmins

James Bay Claude Gravelle, MP Nickel Belt

Carol Hughes, MP Algoma-Manitoulin

Bruce Hyer, MP Thunder Bay-Superior-Kapuskasing North

Tony Martin, MP Sault Ste. Marie

John Rafferty, MP Thunder Bay-Rainy River

Glenn Thibeault, MP Sudbury

CC:

Honourable Chuck Strahl, MP

Honourable Chris Bentley, MPP

Honourable Jack Layton, MP,