Petition against Harmonized Sales Tax and meeting for info in the works
By Peter Shurman (Vaughan Today)
In the spring of 2010, the Dalton McGuinty government will bring in the HST, the Harmonized Sales Tax, which will increase the cost of goods and services that Ontarians buy everyday.
One of the areas affected by the HST will be the cost of enrolling children in minor league sports, such as hockey, figure skating, ringette, baseball and soccer. As of July 1, 2010, the HST will increase all rental fees by 8 percent, meaning fees for renting out ice rinks, baseball diamonds and soccer fields will be higher, a cost that will be passed on to parents.
With sports associations already experiencing a decline in registration, an additional increase in cost will make it unaffordable for many families to register their children to participate in minor leagues, especially since the HST is going to also increase the cost of living for each and every family in Ontario.
The HST will not only affect families with children in minor sports, but will make it more expensive to heat your home, turn on the lights, use the Internet, fill up the car, do your taxes, repair your furnace and use public transit. Condominium owners will experience increases in their maintenance fees, as the HST will be added to the services covered by those fees.
The HST is especially harmful because the government is imposing it at a time when many Ontarians are not getting any cost-of-living increases in their salaries, and are just hoping to keep their jobs to support their families. Instead of raises, hours of work have been cut, manufacturing jobs are in decline and companies are laying off their employees. Despite these conditions, the McGuinty government insists on bringing in the HST and is putting additional hardship on these families, making everyday necessities more expensive.
In protest of the HST and its effect on Ontario families, I have set up a petition, which will be read into the official records of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. I am also organizing a town hall meeting at the Garnett A. Williams Community Centre on Nov. 12 from 7 to 9 p.m.
The purpose of this meeting is to provide Thornhill residents with information on the impact the HST will have, and it is an opportunity for this community to voice its opinion on this new tax.
For more information on the upcoming meeting and to find out more about signing the petition against the HST, please contact my office at 905-731-8462 and visit my website at www.petershurman.com.