HST amendments: Democracy by forklift?

NEWS RELEASE

ONTARIO PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

**************************** Ontario PC Caucus to submit 500,000 amendments to McGuinty Liberal's HST legislation

Ontario PC MPPs Lisa MacLeod and Norm Miller yesterday delivered 500,000 amendments to the McGuinty Government’s proposed HST Legislation.

They will be submitted on Monday to the clerk of the finance and economic affairs committee.

The committee is required to study the bill before it becomes law.

The number of amendments to be submitted is so large that they had to be delivered by forklift to the Ontario Legislature.

If all of the 500,000 Ontario PC amendments are passed, they will have the effect of exempting every single man, woman and child in Ontario from paying the HST on every single good and service produced in the province.

The Ontario PC Caucus is calling on the finance and economic affairs committee to separately vote on every singe amendment in order to protect the best interest of the Ontario taxpayers.

Quotes

“This is democracy in action. We are standing up on principle and defending the families, seniors and small businesses who will pay the most due to Dalton McGuinty’s $3 billion HST tax grab.” - Ontario PC MPP Lisa MacLeod

“We promised we would use every tool at our disposal to block the biggest sales tax increase in Ontario’s history. Today those tools include a forklift.” - Ontario PC MPP Norm Miller

Quick facts

Amendments to Bill 218 (The HST Legislation) must be filed with the clerk of the finance and economic affairs committee by noon on Monday December 7. 

The finance and economic affairs committee started hearing from witnesses yesterday at 8 to 10:15 a.m., and again from 2 to 6 p.m. On Monday, they will hear witnesses from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

During the first round of witnesses, opponents significantly outnumbered supporters in testimony before the committee. 

The following people expressed their opposition to the HST:

- Gerald Gibson, representative of several thousand condominium units

- Paul Bailey, president of Police Pensioners Association of Ontario

- Susan VanderBent, executive director of the Ontario Home Care Association

- Aruna Ogale, executive director of the Ontario Camps Association

- James Flood, director, Government Relations of the Ontario Real Estate Association

- Blake Batson, citizen

- Kevin Gaudet, federal director of the Ontario Taxpayers Federation

- Sue Cannon, manager Roseland Bowl and Paul Oliveira, head of the Bowling Proprietors Association of Ontario/Canada (BPAC)

- Andy Soumbos, Curves

- Tony Guy, citizen

- Mike Chopowick, Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario

- Christina Bisanz, CEO of the Ontario Long-Term Care Association

- Angus Toulouse, Ontario Regional Chief, Roger Jones the Chiefs of Ontario

Liberals blocked Official Opposition MPPs from questioning their key witness, Jack Mintz, who was paid $700,000 to write a report for them.

A Toronto Star/Angus Reid public opinion survey revealed that three quarters of Ontarians oppose the HST, with 70 percent of Ontarians saying their opinion of the McGuinty government had worsened due to the HST.

Since the McGuinty Liberals announced their plans to ram their HST legislation through without provincewide public hearings, the Ontario PC Caucus has pursued an ambitious and aggressive legislative strategy to disrupt the passage of this bill and draw attention to the McGuinty Government’s refusal to hold provincewide public hearings on the HST. 

Tactics to date have included:

- Slowing the business of the House by moving adjournment of debate on every piece of business called. This led to a 30-minute Members Call (bells ringing) each time. Each time an Ontario PC caucus member moved adjournment of debate they made it clear that they were doing so because the McGuinty government was refusing to commit to provincewide public hearings on the single largest sales tax grab in Ontario history.

- Filing a reasoned amendment to Bill 218 that delayed second reading of the Bill.

- Demanding a vote on introduction for all government legislation on the tabling of all committee reports which triggered a five-minute Members Call (bells ringing) each time.

- Calling for ‘late shows’ on inadequately answered Question Period questions every day.

- On Thursday, November 19, the Ontario PC Caucus delayed second reading of the HST Bill with a point of order which challenged the government to bind future governments to a tax rate of 13 percent. Several other procedural points of order were also raised to delay the obstruction of the Bill. When the government called Bill 218, the Ontario PC Caucus caused ‘grave disorder’ in the Legislature, which included the planned ejection of three members of the Ontario PC Caucus.

- Staging a walkout of Question Period on November 23 after Dalton McGuinty refused to hold public hearings in five separate answers.

- Calling for a deferred vote on second reading of Bill 218 which further delayed the Bill by a day.

- Organizing a legislative protest from MPPs Bill Murdoch and Randy Hillier that lasted from the early afternoon of Monday November 30, until the morning of Wednesday December 2.

- Filing 500,000 amendments at the committee stage of Bill 218.

Examples of some of the amendments being filed to Bill 218:

a. Exemptions for condo fees,

b. Exemptions for gym fees, children’s camps and sports registrations,

c. Exemptions for home heating costs.

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