By Kim Zarzour
Jim McHugh has a deep, "radio-quality" voice, so he has no doubt he was heard when he spoke about the harmonized sales tax Monday at Queen's Park.
Whether Liberal MPPs listened, however, is another matter, he says.
The Richmond Hill resident was one of more than 40 who presented at the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs on the second of two days of hearings into the province's bill to enable a melding of the 8 per cent provincial sales tax with the 5 per cent federal GST.
"With my voice, they can hear me in North Bay when the north wind's blowing," Mr. McHugh jokes. "But there's a difference between hearing and listening. I was heard, but listened to? I don't know."
Mr. McHugh is retired now, but he was employed by the province of Ontario's sales tax branch for 27 years, and when he learned of the new HST plan, he was incensed enough to make a presentation at Queens Park - his first ever.
The legislation was passed Wednesday but before the vote, the province allowed 11 hours of public hearings, something Mr. McHugh says was disrespectfully short and "totally irresponsible."
"This is the biggest rip-off con job ever foisted upon a province's taxpayers," he told the committee. "How does Ontario get their share of the tax revenue? Well, through transfer payments ... What is Queen's Park's biggest complaint with the feds over the last 50 years? They keep screwing us on our transfer payments!"
Harmonization was considered by the province in the late 1990s, Mr. McHugh said. "It was trash then, and it's trash now. It was going to kill the province then and it will kill it now."
When he completed his emotional presentation, four of the five opposition MPPs applauded until they were called to order.
Retired York Region Police officer Paul Bailey also spoke to the committee in an attempt to stop harmonization. Speaking as president of the Police Pensioners Association of Ontario, he challenged the McGuinty government's assertion that the HST would not hurt seniors.
"Committee members, with respect, we don't believe a word of it," said Mr. Bailey. "This new tax will take more money out of our pockets than we can afford."
Newmarket-Aurora MPP Frank Klees was on hand for both York Region presentations, and also spoke to the committee. "What was confirmed by Mr. Bailey and many witnesses today, is that the government has failed to take into consideration the real cost of the HST to the average family and especially seniors and people on fixed incomes," said Mr. Klees.
Mr. Klees along with Thornhill PC MPP Peter Shurman and the rest of the Tory and NDP caucuses, voted against the bill. The Liberal majority passed the legislation with a vote of 56-29; it was fast-tracked the same day through the House of Commons with only the NDP opposed, clearing the way for Ontario to implement the HST July 1.
Mr. Shurman said he heard from thousands of constituents dissatisfied witht he new tax. "While the McGuinty Liberals ignored Ontarians this time aroung," he said, "their voices will be heard again - at the polls in 2011."
But Richmond Hill Liberal MPP Reza Moridi says the issue should go beyond politics.
"Who wants taxes? Nobody wants taxes. But our economy is in trouble as we all know," he says. "There's no politics here. This is good for us."
He blames the opposition for presenting just one side of the story. "This is not an HST bill. It's a tax reform."
Mr. Moridi concedes there will be a tax burden, but the Liberals have promised to offset the cost during the first year with a $1,000 cheque for families with income under $160,000. He says 93 per cent of Ontarians will pay less tax under the legislation, and the elimination of embedded PST (when a sofa manufacturer pays PST on supplies, for example, and passes that tax on to the consumer) means the cost of manufactured goods will be reduced.
"Tax is not an easy subject for people to understand," he adds. "It's definitely time to educate the public about this because it is good for our economy."
Mr. McHugh, however, is not convinced, and holds out hope the HST can still be repealed. "A quitter never wins and a winner never quits."