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Page 14 THE HERALD Wednesday June 1991 Political Forum Ottawa Report The federallyimplemented GST in review A woman from Caledon wrote me a letter last week in an envelope crammed with cash register tapes and receipts As we have the Conservative government to thank for the GST she said I thought you would be the appropriate person to send this to as you represent that government locally Enclosed are receipts that we have kept and which show the 7 GST It has been our experience that this is in addition to the regular price We have not notic ed that prices have been lowered due to the removal of the manufacturers tax We would also like to know what purpose this extra revenue will be put by the government Thats a fair question and almost six months after the dreaded GST came into effect its probably a good time to review how things are going Politically it was a disaster The federal government dropped like a stone in the polls as the GST was contemplated and then finally after three years of debate implemented I have no illusions that most people were afraid of the tax and that there was considerable doubt its effects You may recall that I set up a HaltonPeel tax committee to hold public meetings on the tax in this riding And I sent every home a booklet explaining the proposed tax and asking for your comments Hundreds and hun dreds of people took part in that process And when I made my report to Michael Wilson this is what I recommended Reduce the rate from the pro posed Impose the GST on everything in the economy no exemptions That would allow the rate to fall to the range and would be fair and simple to ad minister Apply any extra proceeds of the GST to paying down the deficit Combine the GST with the provincial sales tax so businesses wouldnt have to col lect twice Well the rate was reduced to 7 but the federal government couldnt bring itself to put the GST on everything so the rate could fall and fairness rise And the Bob government in Ontario has sworn that it would rather have a canary than har monize its sales tax with the GST the way theyre doing it in Quebec and Saskatchewan But last February Ottawa did agree that all the extra money the GST raised would go to the deficit In fact the feds are set ting up a separate national bank account for just that purpose It will simply not be possible for that money to be flushed away on some new spending program And how much money are we talking about here Last week Ottawa revealed that the GST had raised billion in the first three months of the year or about million more than expected The government said this was probably a onetime event because many companies sent in their GST before they actually had to But some of us think theres also been some pricegouging go ing on Sure some prices have fallen its a good time to buy a new car for example But others as the woman who wrote me pointed out have not particular ly in smaller stores Large retailers made a point during the first weeks of the year of adver tising their GST savings Com panies like Canadian Tire and Shoppers Drug Mart and The Bay underlined the reductions But others figuring everybody expected to pay more for everything just added it on and pocketed the difference This week Im making it a point to question the finance minister about the extra GST money and get it reaffirmed that every extra dime goes toward the deficit I dont like paying GST either But as a tax it is far better than the one it replaced making our businesses more competitive The change may have had something to do with our trade with the US increasing by several billion dollars over the past year But all that can seem very dis tant when youre standing there in the store finding cents for the GST Just try to remember those pennies are helping us all buy back our indebted future Queens Park Report Two important Bills introduced by NDP As youve probably heard two important Bills were Introduced last week at Queens Park the Retail Business Establishments Statute Law Amendment Act 1991 and the Rent Control legisla tion The first will will amend both the Retail Business Holidays Act which governs Sunday shopp ing and the Employment Stan dards Act which sets our work ing conditions for Ontario employees The Retail Business Holidays Act had been declared unconstitutional last summer That ruling was then overturned by the Ontario Court of Appeal in March The new regulations will give working people the protec tion of a common pause day in Ontario will still promoting our vital tourism industry With the amendments to the Employment Standards Act all holiday retail work will be voluntary and no worker will suffer by refusing to work on a holiday There will be new powers to investigate com plaints that employees may have about the new system The amendments to the will establish a tourism exemption to be administered by local municipalities There will be con sistent provincewide standards for the definition of a tourist area putting an end to the current pat chwork system of local rules But once the provincial standards have been met municipal coun cils will be able to decide which local tourist businesses can open on holidays Following the second reading of the bill the Standing Committee on Justice will con duct public hearings In the meantime I look forward to your comments on the proposed changes With the introduction of the new rent control legislation we will finally have a system that will be workable for both tenants and landlords If youre a tenant the legislation will provide de cent affordable rental ac commodation and protect you against high rent increases and poorly maintained buildings Under rent control there will be Noel Duignan North MPP New Democratic Party two annual rent increase guidelines based on the infla tionary increases in operating costs and an allowance for maintenance and repairs Landlords will be allowed to raise rents by up to the guideline without applying for approval One guideline will apply to large buildings and another higher guideline will be for small buildings of under six units If youre a landlord of a small building this is the first time that your higher perunit costs will be recognized The legislation also places strict limits on the amount and the reasons for rent in creases will be no more than three per cent above the guideline The extra rent in creases will only be allowed for significant increases in municipal taxes and utilities Additional rent increases for capital expenditures may be allowed too but only for work related to maintaining the physical in tegrity of the building meeting health safety and en vironmental standards maintaining plumbing heating mechanical electrical ventilation and air conditioning systems providing access for disabled people increasing energy conserva tion Landlords applying for addi tional rent increases will have to prove that the work is necessary and could not be financed through the annual guideline increase that sets aside two per cent of rents for repairs The legislation also includes stronger maintenance provisions and increased penalties For in stance landlords will not receive any rent increases at all not even the guideline increase until they comply with ail outstanding work orders against their building Landlords and tenants will not have a right to a hearing to resolve rent disputes And the rent registry will continue to pro vide important information to you about illegal and legal rents And finally because some of you had concerns about the need to stimulate construction the law would exempt new rental buildings from rent control for a fiveyear period to help landlords settle in their rents Copies of the new booklet outlining the proposed rent con trol provisions are available in my constituency offices MARYANDflECEIVElO OFF FULL HAIR SERVICE MillW Acton ta NEW IN TOWN Let Us Put The Mat Out For You ACTON I GEORGETOWN Judy Dabble NEW ADDITION Walcoma Wagon St will bring congratulations and gifts tor the family and NEW BABY GEORGETOWN HERES HOW TO PLAY WEEK TWO Each week for a total of weeks there will be 1 0 different Olde Georgetown Place businesses featured in this space You must visit each business and pick up a special Scavenger Hunt Play Piece to win At the end of the Five Weeks you will have a total of Pieces which you will submit with your name ad dress and phone number to enter a draw for the winner Contest closes Monday July 8th at 6 pm Please drop off entries at one of the participating businesses You must have 50 pieces to win Photo copies are not acceptable CONTEST PIONEER DAYS UNTIL AFTER Conli will fl