October 06, 2009
HST could force vote
Prince George Citizen
Page 1, Final Edition
By Mark Nielsen
Could the harmonized sales tax be the issue that forces a federal election?
Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Nathan Cullen says it’s possible.
At some point the House of Commons will have to pass legislation authorizing Ottawa to pay B.C. $1.6 billion and Ontario $4.3 billion in compensation to ease the transition, and Cullen said Monday the NDP will vote against the measure.
Although Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff recently clarified that his party would not reverse the tax if elected, Cullen said the Liberals have declared they will vote against the Conservatives on every motion of confidence.
“The Liberals are conflicted,” Cullen said.
That leaves the Bloc holding the hammer and Cullen said the Conservatives will have to fork over money to Quebec if they want to get the legislation through.
“The Bloc wants money because Quebec signed a version of HST but didn’t get compensated, and now Quebec is feeling a little slighted, well more than a little, they want billions,” Cullen said.
Quebec finance minister Monique Jérôme-Forget said in March the province is willing to harmonize its sales tax with the federal GST, calculating the province would be entitled to $2.6-billion from Ottawa by doing so.
Under a 1990 deal, Quebec collected both PST and GST and sent Ottawa its share.
But Jérôme-Forget said she had since learned through the media that Flaherty doesn’t consider Quebec in harmony with Ottawa. Flaherty points to what Ontario did as harmonization.
If the legislation is passed, B.C. will receive the $1.6 billion over three years.
Prince George-Peace River MP Jay Hill, who is also the Conservative house leader, said it will likely be some time yet before the issue is even brought to a vote, noting HST is not due to begin in B.C. until July 1, 2010.
“I’m not aware of any deadline that’s going to force us to bring forward that legislation anytime soon,” Hill said adding it could be included in next year’s federal budget as opposed to being stand-alone legislation.
“That would seem kind of logical to me,” said Hill, whose duties as house leader include guiding the government’s agenda through the House, determining which bills will be called forward for debate and negotiating with the opposition leaders on matters for the day.
If MPs reject the legislation, it will also put a $1.6-billion hole in the province’s budget. In answer to that aspect, Cullen said it means B.C. taxpayers will find out just how effective an HST will be in improving the province’s economy. “If it’s a government that believes that higher consumer taxes will improve the economy and raise government revenues, I guess they’ll find they’ll make up that money with more taxes being collected,” he said.
B.C. is set to receive the $1.6 billion over three years, starting with $750 million in 2009-10 and followed by $374 million in 2010-11 and $475 million in 2011-12.
Prince George-Cariboo MP Dick Harris called the NDP’s stance on the HST hypocritical given there hasn’t been a tax increase they’ve ever opposed. He also maintained the compensation provinces are provided to harmonize is a Liberal invention and the Conservatives lack the majority to end the practice even if they wanted to.
