For Immediate Release:
May 20, 2010
Queens Park – Three questions and zero answers.
That was the tally following Opposition Environment Critic Toby Barrett’s queries to Premier McGuinty yesterday regarding new water and carbon taxes poised to take more money from Ontarians pockets.
“Dalton McGuinty clearly has no difficulty raising taxes after looking Ontario voters in the eye and telling them that that he wouldn’t raise them without their explicit consent,” Barrett fired in his first question. “He had no inner bell go off when he said that the HST will be revenue-neutral, knowing that it would “be an increase in taxation.”
“Premier, how much will your water tax take out of the pockets of Ontario families?”
After thanking Barrett for the question, the Premier made no attempt to even address the question of cost, prompting the Haldimand-Norfolk MPP to make a second attempt.
“Back to my question: When the media asked a direct question about the water tax yesterday, Dalton McGuinty refused to rule it out – According to the member for Don Valley East, the water tax will cost families $50 a month; that’s almost double the $350 increase to power bills that Dalton McGuinty brought in since taking office,” reported Barrett. “How much do you think Ontario families have in their pockets to take away with all of these Dalton McGuinty tax increases?”
The Premier again ignored the direct question, instead choosing to respond by talking about water loss due to aging pipes after which Barrett made one final attempt to get a response.
“Ontario families, as we know, are already hit with tax increases on televisions, iPods, electronics, electricity, gas, HST and plastic bags all since the 2007 election – they can now look forward to Dalton McGuinty implementing a carbon tax.” Barrett stated. “His member for downtown Toronto, the former mayor of Winnipeg, is already tweeting to rally support for the Premier’s job-killing carbon tax.
“Premier, what will it take for you to respect Ontario families and stay out of their wallets?”
McGuinty responded by suggesting that Barrett’s concerns over taxing families were, “short-sighted”.
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For more information, please contact MPP Toby Barrett at
(519) 428-0446 or (905)-765-8413, 1-800-903-8629
Taxation
Mr. Toby Barrett: My question is for the Premier. Dalton McGuinty clearly has no difficulty raising taxes after looking Ontario voters in the eye and telling them that that he wouldn’t raise them without their explicit consent. He had no inner bell go off when he said that the HST will be revenue-neutral, knowing that it would “be an increase in taxation.” He hasn’t even implemented his HST tax grab before planning a water tax grab.
Premier, how much will your water tax take out of the pockets of Ontario families?
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: I want to thank the member for his question, because we’re very proud of the new bill that we introduced yesterday in this House, the Water Opportunities Act
Like our Green Energy Act, it’s the first of its kind in North America. It’s designed to accelerate the development of a still stronger industry in Ontario when it comes to developing and exporting clean water technologies and services. There is at present in the world today, globally speaking, a $400-billion clean water industry. It should double during the course of the next five or six years. We think we can lead North America in that grand opportunity, and our Water Opportunities Act is about getting things going here to an even stronger extent.
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Supplementary?
Mr. Toby Barrett: Back to my question: When the media asked a direct question about the water tax yesterday, Dalton McGuinty refused to rule it out, so we all know what that means.
According to the member for Don Valley East, the water tax will cost families $50 a month; that’s almost double the $350 increase to power bills that Dalton McGuinty brought in since taking office. It rivals the health tax that you introduced after taking office.
How much do you think Ontario families have in their pockets to take away with all of these Dalton McGuinty tax increases?
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: My honourable colleague’s assertion is without foundation in fact. What we are working to do is to find ways, certainly here in Ontario, to conserve water, to use less water, to lower our water bills.
It turns out that about 25% of the water that we ship, after treating it inside of our municipal water delivery system, leaks outside the pipes. We’re paying to ship water which doesn’t even end up at its ultimate destination, which is in our homes. We think we can do more to save water. Ultimately, what that will help us do is save money.
The Speaker (Hon. Steve Peters): Final supplementary?
Mr. Toby Barrett: The Premier has broken his word on taxes so many times, and there’s no denying what the member for Don Valley East leaked about a $600-a-year water tax.
It doesn’t stop there; Ontario families, as we know, are already hit with tax increases on televisions, iPods, electronics, electricity, gas, HST and plastic bags all since the 2007 election. They can now look forward to Dalton McGuinty implementing a carbon tax. His member for downtown Toronto, the former mayor of Winnipeg, is already tweeting to rally support for the Premier’s job-killing carbon tax.
Premier, what will it take for you to respect Ontario families and stay out of their wallets?
Hon. Dalton McGuinty: Ontario families are very concerned about a number of things: not only about household costs, and we recognize that, but they’re also concerned about the quality of the air that their kids are breathing. They’re worried about the quality of water that comes out of the tap when they turn that on. They’re worried about their employment opportunities. They’re worried about the quality of their health care. They’re worried about the quality of their schools. My friends opposite may bring this myopic perspective of a family’s concerns, but they are certainly short-sighted.
We understand that families are concerned about their levels of taxation—that’s why we’re reducing their taxes effective January 1 of this year—but they’re also concerned about their future. They want to make sure that we have a strong economy, good jobs, good schools, good health care, air that we can breathe and water that we can drink. We understand the big picture; we’ll keep fighting for the big picture for our families.