Federal Conservative DNA is all over the HST and denials of any role in its parentage ring hollow, Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said yesterday.
"I'd refer to Mr. Flaherty's budget and I'd ask those Conservatives why they would vote for that and then speak against it," Duncan said, in the wake of several Conservative MPs and one of the prime minister's spokesman trying to distance the party from the plan to combine the provincial and federal retail sales taxes.
The Iggman himself:
He said the government has pushed the HST across the country during a recession and then has distanced itself when opposition to the tax heats up.
"And we think that's dishonest. They're fully implicated in this decision and they should take responsibility for it."
Ignatieff said Stephen Harper is pretending it's a provincial matter for both British Columbia and Ontario, yet the federal government will be the collector of the tax.
Mind you, as I've written previously, I think the NDP is best set to exploit this issue both provincially and federally, so this isn't a surprise:
Vancouver New Democrat MP Libby Davies scoffs at both the federal Liberals and Conservatives, pointing out that the parties voted for the HST cash enticements in the federal budget.
"It sounds like they're all running for cover and trying to blame each other."
Nor is this:
The New Democrats are framing the upcoming St. Paul's by-election as the chance to send Premier Dalton McGuinty's Liberals a message about the controversial harmonized sales tax.
As the NDP selected lawyer Julian Heller last night as their candidate for the Sept. 17 contest, party leader Andrea Horwath said voters in the midtown Toronto riding can let McGuinty know what they think about the 13 per cent tax.
Just as an aside, the HST issue as it has been playing out in B.C. has brought this guy outta the wood-work. I saw his face and flashed back to that day in the late 70s when I found those little mushrooms in that field behind Belmont Sr. High, near Langford B.C.
Too weird, man. I'm hearing Grateful Dead music playing in my mind.
3 comments:
Does Vanderzalm's wife still wear that headband she had back in the day? I still have scary memories of being a pre-teen and seeing those pics in my mom's Chatelaine mags.
I love the line - say it loud, say it often
HST - Harper Sales Tax
again and again and again
It doesn't appear as Ignatieff is really against HST... he offers no alternative plan and merely says it should be implemented better, which means he's really on side with it (which makes sense since Liberals in BC and Ontario implemented it). Does he think voters are dumb and won't see through his smokescreen?
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