No harmony in the HST Debate

The clock is ticking. The controversial Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) has a scheduled implementation date of July 1 in both Ontario and British Columbia. HST is the combined tax of both the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) at seven per cent and GST at five per cent. The new tax will now apply to purchases that were previously not covered by PST.

Despite protests and petitions, First Nations leaders say their concerns about the HST are being brushed aside by both the provincial and federal governments.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), has loudly opposed the 12 per cent tax. He has said the new tax will severely impact First Nations who struggle with high poverty rates.

Phillip said UBCIC has attempted repeatedly to set up a meeting with BC Finance Minister Colin Hansen to discuss the issues First Nations have with the HST. They have yet to hear a reply back from the minister’s office.

“There is really no response from the government of Canada or Minister Hansen here in B.C.,” said Phillip. “They seem really focused on ramming this thing through.”

Minister Hansen issued a statement to Windspeaker via email on May 17. He said his office had recently responded to Phillip’s correspondence, which was accompanied with an apology for the delay. He said HST will, in fact, be in the best interest of its biggest opponent.

“Industries, such as mining and forestry, will benefit from the proposed HST, because it will lower costs for these job-creating industries, keeping British Columbia competitive and encouraging investment,” explained Hansen. “Strong resource industries are able to make investments that result in more jobs and support other community businesses, especially in rural and remote communities, and should therefore benefit First Nations.”

Critics of HST say corporations will profit from the new tax system, while low-income consumers will struggle to keep up with higher costs.

Phillip, who referred to many First Nations as “the poorest of the poor,” said his people and other low-income households would suffer the most from having to pay the taxes on items that were once exempt under PST.

UBCIC has scheduled a chiefs council meeting for the first week of June, where former premier Bill Vander Zalm is scheduled as a guest speaker. Phillip has worked very closely with Vander Zalm on his high-profile anti-HST citizen’s campaign.

The campaign has 90 days to gather the signatures of a minimum 10 per cent of registered voters in each constituency. If successful the HST legislation would be repealed and the issue referred to a referendum.

The campaign includes a Web site that encourages visitors to sign his “fight HST petition.”

As of May 17, Vander Zalm’s Web site reported that the petition had reached 500,000 signatures, halfway to their goal of gathering 15 per cent of BC’s registered voters.

“It looks like they have a very strong chance of delivering this petition into the legislature with more than enough signatures,” said Phillip.

Despite the determination of UBCIC to overturn the decision to impose HST, Phillip acknowledged that his counterparts in Ontario have an even bigger battle when it comes to the effects of the new tax.

In Ontario, First Nations’ biggest concern surrounding the tax has been the loss of their point-of-sale exemption on the PST portion of the tax. This is something First Nations in B.C. do not receive.

Following weeks of several organized protests by First Nations throughout Ontario, the government of Ontario issued a press release on May 5 that said they are committed to working “shoulder to shoulder” with First Nations to encourage the federal government to maintain the point-of-sale exemption on goods and services purchased off the reserve.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed, but Grand Chief Randall Phillips of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians is concerned that the MOU, while a step in the right direction, is merely a band-aid, administrative solution.

“Our concern is, at the end of the day, what will this MOA accomplish in terms of tangible items?” asked Phillips, who is not comfortable with the wording used in the document.

The press release concludes with a paragraph that reminds First Nations that the decision on the point-of-sale tax exemption is ultimately up to the federal government, which will administer the HST as it does the GST.

Phillips said he predicts the government of Canada won’t be easily swayed.

“Here in Ontario they just give us lip-service,” said Phillips.

HST in Ontario will be slightly higher than B.C. at 13 per cent.

On May 17, the Canadian Press reported that Batchewana First Nation of Sault Ste. Marie has threatened to blockade rail traffic in protest of HST, while Garden River First Nation is considering collecting a toll from motorists traveling on its highway.

NDP leader Jack Layton has gone on record as saying he will try to convince Prime Minister Stephen Harper to avoid the emerging conflict and to take action immediately.