If the government won’t answer your requests in Question Period, leave.
Frustrated by Premier Dalton McGuinty’s refusal to hold public hearings on the controversial 13 per cent HST, the 25-member Progressive Conservative caucus stormed out of the Legislature’s daily question period today shortly after it began.
“You have lost touch,” Conservative Leader Tim Hudak told McGuinty before the stunt took place, accusing the Liberals of being afraid of a public backlash over the tax. ”If Premier McGuinty is going to show that level of contempt for taxpayers by forcing through the largest sales tax grab in the history of this province without any kind of public hearings . . . we see no point in proceeding with question period today.”
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Hudak's Tories protest plan to create 590,000 net new jobs.
I agree…Hudak is acting like a fool. Most people already think they pay PST and GST on everything. It is only special interests who are loud on this because they have a PR budget. I've voted PC and Liberal in Ontario; Not only will I be voting Liberal next time I will be donating and fundraising.
An important lesson for M. Ignatieff: Silly Grandstanding against a measure that you actually agree with will make you look as foolish as M. Hudak here.
And what, precisely, would hearings achieve? Merging sales taxes is a reasonable way to save businesses money. In a province that desperately needs improved business conditions, it's not as horrible as it looks.
Having said that, I'm not keen on having to pay an extra 5% on just about everything I buy now – income and other tax breaks notwithstanding.
You realise that most things are currently charged at 8%, and will continue to be, right? There are a few items that are currently exempt, but to characterize them as ‘most’ is not accurate.
Because Question Period would not be the place to question the government on this sort of thing. I think that "contempt for the taxpayer" is walking out on QP.