Tony demands: Drop taxes on home heating before snow falls

NEWS RELEASE

TONY MARTIN, MP

***************************** Drop taxes on home heating before snow falls: Layton, NDP

New Democrat leader urges PM to stop Canada’s “affordability crisis”

OTTAWA – New Democrat Leader Jack Layton is calling on Stephen Harper to give hardworking families a break and immediately remove the five percent HST/GST from home heating before the snow falls.

“I’ve crisscrossed this country more than once, you know – and I see people struggling right now, more than I’ve ever seen,” said Layton. “We're seeing home heating costs skyrocket in many parts of the country. I’m asking Mr. Harper to put partisanship aside and work with me to do the right thing."

Speaking Sunday at the party’s federal council meeting, Layton said Stephen Harper has broken his promise to make life more affordable for Canadians, but New Democrats are willing to work with the Prime Minister to help seniors and working families as they struggle with high heating bills this winter.

Layton is also asking Harper to re-introduce the home and ecoEnergy retrofit program, so families can retrofit their homes and further reduce heating bills.

“In Ontario, home heating costs have risen 17 percent in six months, made a lot worse by Harper's HST," Sault MP Tony Martin said. "Winter is fast approaching. New Democrats recognize that something has to be done right now.”

The proposal is estimated to cost the federal government about $700 million in revenue by forgoing five percent of taxes from home heating supplies, such as oil, wood, fuel and electricity.

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