Harmonized Sales Tax
The harmonization is a decision of the Ontario government and I trust you have contacted MPP John Milloy to advise him of your views. I have never supported the GST and I was pleased when our Conservative government reduced it from 7% to 5%, an almost 30% reduction.
However, the decision to proceed having been made by the Ontario Government, the Government of Canada has no choice but to accept that the Ontario Government speaks on behalf of Ontarians. It would be unacceptable for the Government of Canada to try to block the Government of Ontario from acting on any matter within its proper jurisdiction.
The Federal government is providing over $4 billion to the Ontario government to soften the impact of harmonization. It is also important to note that the Ontario government has delayed the implementation of this measure until 2010.